JP2000090522A - Tape drive device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the occurrence frequency of errors of a loading motor. SOLUTION: By a system controller, the loading motor is controlled for driving (S001-S003) with a constant voltage at the time of normal loading operation. When the operational error of the loading motor is detected (S002), the control is made (S007, S008) so that the retry is carried out (S005, S006) by the driving with the constant voltage in the case of the operational error of the loading motor at the first time and by the PWM voltage in the case of the operational error at the second time or more.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape drive capable of recording and reproducing data on, for example, a tape recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A so-called tape streamer drive is known as a drive device capable of recording / reproducing digital data on / from a magnetic tape. Such a tape streamer drive can have an enormous recording capacity of, for example, about several tens to several hundreds of gigabytes, depending on the tape length of a tape cassette as a medium. It is widely used for such purposes as backing up data recorded on media. It is also suitable for use in storing image data having a large data size.

[0003] As the above-mentioned tape streamer drive, there has been proposed a tape streamer drive in which data is recorded / reproduced by employing a helical scan method using a rotary head. Such a tape streamer drive is provided with a loading mechanism for pulling out a magnetic tape from a tape cassette and bringing the magnetic tape into contact with a part of a rotary head.

As a driving method of the loading mechanism, for example, a constant voltage driving method for driving a loading motor at a constant voltage, a so-called PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) voltage driving method for driving a square wave voltage with a controlled pulse width, and the like. It has been known.

[0005]

However, for example, when the loading motor is driven at a constant voltage, a sufficient torque cannot be given to the loading motor.
For example, when a load on the loading motor temporarily increases under a certain condition such as a foreign matter entering the loading mechanism or abrasion of the motor, a loading motor error due to insufficient torque may occur.

On the other hand, when the loading motor is driven by the PWM voltage, a larger torque can be applied to the loading motor as compared with the above-described constant voltage drive. There is an advantage that even if the load increases, a loading motor error due to insufficient torque can be prevented. However, in this case, there is a drawback that the motor is worn more than in the case of the constant voltage drive, the life of the motor is shortened, the loading speed is delayed, and the loading noise is increased.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and draws out a magnetic tape housed in a tape cassette and winds the magnetic tape around a rotating drum having a recording / reproducing head. In a tape drive device provided with a tape loading device that can be rotated, the drive of the loading motor of the tape loading device is controlled by a constant voltage signal during tape loading, and when an operation error is detected at that time, the loading is performed. A loading motor drive control means capable of switching the motor to drive control by a square wave voltage signal is provided.

[0008] When an operation error occurs in the drive control by the constant voltage signal, the loading motor drive control means performs the retry drive control by the constant voltage signal up to a predetermined number of times and performs the retry drive control by a predetermined number of times. If you still get an operation error,
The drive control is switched to a square wave voltage signal.

According to the present invention, for example, during a normal loading operation, the loading motor drive control means drives and controls the loading motor with a constant voltage signal.
Then, only when the operation error of the loading motor cannot be eliminated, the driving control of the loading motor is performed by a square wave voltage signal capable of giving a torque from the constant voltage signal to the loading motor. It is possible to eliminate the driving error of the loading motor caused by the insufficient torque of the loading motor.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiments of the present invention will be described below in the following order. 1. 1. Configuration of tape cassette 2. Configuration of tape streamer drive and host computer 3. Operation and configuration of loading mechanism Control operation of loading mechanism

1. First, a tape cassette corresponding to the tape streamer drive of the present embodiment will be described with reference to an external appearance example shown in FIG. The tape cassette 2 shown in FIG. 2 contains a magnetic tape 4 having a tape width of 8 mm. The tape cassette 2 includes a tape cassette body 7 in which a pair of upper and lower halves 5 and 6 are abutted in a substantially rectangular shape formed by molding a synthetic resin and are connected by a plurality of set screws. Inside the tape cassette body 7, a pair of tape reels around which the magnetic tape 4 is wound around and wound in a longitudinal direction, that is, a tape supply reel 8 and a tape take-up reel 9, are rotatably housed. .

The tape cassette body 7 has a front portion 10 which is opened over substantially the entire area in the width direction. The front portion 10 has a loading portion, which will be described later, provided in the tape streamer drive of the present embodiment. An approximately concave tape pull-out portion 11 into which a part of the mechanism enters is provided. In the tape cassette body 7, a partition wall 12 partitions a space between an internal space in which the tape supply reel 8 and the tape take-up reel 9 are rotatably stored and the tape pull-out unit 11.

A front cover 13 for closing the open front portion 10 is rotatably attached to the tape cassette body 7. A rear cover member 14 that closes a front open portion of the upper half 5 is rotatably mounted on the inner surface of the front cover 13.

Therefore, a part of the loading mechanism of the tape cassette 2 enters the tape pull-out portion 11 when the front cover 13 and the rear cover member 14 are rotated to open the front portion 10 of the tape cassette body 7. Then, a predetermined loading operation such as pulling out the magnetic tape 4 outward is performed.

2. Next, the configuration of the tape streamer drive and the host computer will be described with reference to FIG.
0 will be described. The tape streamer drive 100 performs recording / reproduction on the magnetic tape 4 of the loaded tape cassette 2 by a helical scan method. The rotary drum 18 has, for example, two recording heads 12A and 12B having different azimuth angles.
And three reproducing heads 13 having different azimuth angles, for example.
A, 13B and 13C are provided.

The rotary drum 18 around which the magnetic tape 4 drawn from the tape cassette 2 is wound is rotated by a drum motor 114A. Further, a capstan 83 for causing a magnetic tape 4 described later to run at a constant speed is rotationally driven by a capstan motor 114B. FIG.
The tape supply reel 8 in the tape cassette 2 shown in FIG.
And the tape take-up reel 9 are respectively
C and 114D independently rotate in the forward and reverse directions. The loading motor 31 drives a loading mechanism described below, and rotates the rotating drum 18 of the magnetic tape 4.
Perform loading / unloading to

The drum motor 114A, the capstan motor 114B, the reel motors 114C and 114D, and the loading motor 31 are driven to rotate by application of electric power from a mechanical driver 117, respectively. Mechanical driver 117
Drives each motor based on the control from the servo controller 116. The servo controller 116 controls the rotation speed of each motor to run during normal recording / reproducing, running at high speed, running tape at fast-forward and rewind, loading a tape cassette, loading / unloading operation, and performing tape tensioning. Control operation, and the like. Although not shown, the servo controller 116
In order to execute servo control of each motor, the drum motor 114A, the capstan motor 114B, and the reel motors 114C and 114D are provided with FGs (frequency generators), respectively, so that rotation information of each motor can be detected. I have to.

The servo controller 116 determines the rotational speed of each motor based on these FG pulses, thereby detecting an error between the rotational operation of each motor and the target rotational speed, and corresponds to the error. By performing the applied power control on the mechanical driver 117, it is possible to realize the rotation speed control in a closed loop. Therefore,
The servo controller 116 can perform control such that each motor is rotated at a target rotation speed according to each operation during various operations such as normal running during recording / reproduction, high speed search, fast forward, and rewind. .

The EEP-ROM 118 stores constants and the like used by the servo controller 116 for servo control of each motor. The servo controller 116 executes a control process of the entire system via an interface controller / ECC formatter 122 (hereinafter, referred to as an IF / ECC controller).
5 and bidirectionally.

In the tape streamer drive 100, the SCSI interface 1 is used for data input / output.
20 are used. For example, during data recording, data is sequentially input from the host computer 140 via the SCSI interface 120 in a transmission data unit of a fixed-length record, and supplied to the compression / decompression circuit 121. In such a tape streamer drive system, there is also a mode in which data is transmitted from the host computer 140 in units of variable-length data sets.

In the compression / expansion circuit 121, if necessary, the input data is subjected to a compression process by a predetermined method. As an example of the compression method, for example, L
If a compression method using a Z code is adopted, in this method, a special code is assigned to a character string processed in the past and stored in the form of a dictionary. Then, the character string to be input thereafter is compared with the contents of the dictionary. If the character string of the input data matches the code of the dictionary, the character string data is replaced with the code of the dictionary. Data of the input character string that does not match the dictionary is sequentially given a new code and registered in the dictionary. In this manner, the data of the input character string is registered in the dictionary, and the data is compressed by replacing the character string data with the code of the dictionary.

The output of the compression / decompression circuit 121 is IF / E
Although supplied to the CC controller 122, the IF / ECC
The controller 122 temporarily stores the output of the compression / expansion circuit 121 in the buffer memory 123 by the control operation. Under the control of the IF / ECC controller 122, the data stored in the buffer memory 123 is finally handled as a fixed-length unit corresponding to 40 tracks of the magnetic tape 4 called a group. ECC format processing is performed on the data.

In the ECC format processing, an error correction code is added to the recording data, and the data is subjected to a modulation processing so as to conform to magnetic recording.
It is supplied to the F processing unit 119. The RF processing unit 119 performs processing such as amplification and recording equalization on the supplied recording data to generate a recording signal, and the recording head 12A,
12B. As a result, the recording heads 12A, 12A
From B, data is recorded on the magnetic tape 4.

The data reproducing operation will be briefly described. The data recorded on the magnetic tape 4 is read from the reproducing head 13.
A and 13B read out as an RF reproduction signal, and the reproduction output thereof is subjected to reproduction equalization, reproduction clock generation, binarization, decoding (for example, Viterbi decoding) and the like in an RF processing unit 119. The signal read in this way is supplied to the IF / ECC controller 122, where the signal is first subjected to error correction processing and the like. And the buffer memory 12
3 is temporarily stored, read at a predetermined time, and supplied to the compression / decompression circuit 121. The compression / decompression circuit 121 performs data decompression processing on the data that has been compressed by the compression / decompression circuit 121 during recording based on the determination of the system controller 115, and performs data decompression processing on uncompressed data. Is output without passing. The output data of the compression / decompression circuit 121 is SCS
The data is output to the host computer 140 as reproduction data via the I interface 120.

FIG. 3 also shows the MIC (Memory In Memory) which is a nonvolatile memory together with the magnetic tape of the tape cassette 2.
Cassette) 130 is shown. The MIC 130 is disposed inside the housing of the tape cassette 7 shown in FIG. 2, and a power supply terminal, a data input terminal, a clock input terminal, a ground terminal, and the like are led out of the module of the MIC 130. When the main body 7 is loaded into the tape streamer drive 100, these terminals are connected so that data can be input / output to / from the system controller 115. This allows the system controller 1
Reference numeral 15 can read management information recorded in the MIC 130 or update the management information.

The MIC 130 contains information relating to the manufacturing date and location of each tape cassette, the thickness and length of the tape, the material thereof, the usage history of recording data for each partition formed on the tape 3, and the like. User information and the like are stored. In this specification, various types of information stored in the MIC 130 are also referred to as “management information”.

Information is mutually transmitted between the MIC 130 and the external host computer 140 using SCSI commands. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated line between the MIC 130 and the host computer 140, and as a result, the tape cassette and the host computer 14
Data exchange with 0 can be connected only with the SCSI interface.

Information is mutually transmitted between the tape streamer drive 100 and the host computer 140 using the SCSI interface 120 as described above.
The host computer 140 performs various communications with the system controller 115 using SCSI commands. Therefore, the host computer 140
Is the system controller 115 by the SCSI command.
To execute data writing / reading with respect to the MIC 130.

S-RAM 124, flash ROM 12
Reference numeral 5 stores data used by the system controller 115 for various processes. For example, the flash ROM 125 stores constants and the like used for control. Also S-RAM1
24 is used as a work memory, MIC 130
, Data to be written to the MIC 130, mode data set in units of tape cassettes, various flag data, and the like, and memory used for arithmetic processing and the like. The S-RAM 124 and the flash RO
The M125 may be configured as an internal memory of a microcomputer configuring the system controller 115, or may be configured to use a part of the area of the buffer memory 123 as a work memory.

3. Operation and Configuration of Loading Mechanism Next, the operation and configuration of the loading mechanism provided in the tape streamer drive 100 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIGS. 3 and 4 are horizontal sectional views of the loading mechanism when the tape cassette 2 is inserted into the loading mechanism of the present embodiment. The loading operation will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a cassette housing 16 is provided inside a housing 15 of the tape streamer drive 100 of the present embodiment, in which the tape cassette 2 is inserted. Opening 1
A rotating drum 18 provided with a recording / reproducing head for recording data on the magnetic tape 4 and reading data recorded on the magnetic tape 4 is provided in a central area facing 7.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the tape cassette 2 is normally loaded in the cassette accommodating section 16, a drive signal for loading drive is output by a position detecting mechanism (not shown), and the first tape guide 42 As shown in FIG. 4, the magnetic tape 4 is pulled out by moving from the tape pull-out portion 11 of the tape cassette 2 to the position of the fixed tape guide 82 erected on the chassis 81 on the one side plate 19 inside the housing 15. To be.

The second and third movable tape guides 55 and 56 shown in FIG. 3 move around the rotary drum 18 from the tape pull-out portion 11 of the tape cassette 2 as shown in FIG. The magnetic tape 4 is pulled out by moving to a position that is substantially one-third of a turn in the clockwise direction indicated by the arrow S. Further, the fourth and fifth movable tape guides 59 and 60 shown in FIG. 3 indicate the circumference of the rotary drum 18 from the tape pull-out portion 11 of the tape cassette 2 as shown in FIG. The magnetic tape 4 is pulled out by moving to a position where it is rotated about 1/3 in a counterclockwise direction. Also,
The second and third moving tape guides 55 and 56 and the fourth and fifth moving tape guides 59 and 60 apply a predetermined tape tension to the magnetic tape 4, and apply the magnetic tape 4 to a rotating drum. The outer peripheral sliding surface 90 of the base 18 is securely pressed against the outer peripheral sliding surface 90.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the sixth tape guide 75 shown in FIG. 3 moves the magnetic tape 4 from the tape pull-out portion 11 of the tape cassette 2 to a position on the other side plate 20 side inside the housing 15. To be brought out. As shown in FIG. 4, the pinch roller 77 shown in FIG. 3 is provided with a capstan 8 standing upright on the chassis 81 on the other side plate 20 of the housing 15 from the tape pull-out portion 11 of the tape cassette 2.
The magnetic tape 4 is pulled out to the position 3 and the magnetic tape 4 is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the capstan 83.

As a result, the magnetic tape 4 pulled out from the tape cassette 2 as shown in FIG.
Tape guides 42, 55, 56, 59, 60, 75,
And a part thereof is wound around the rotating drum 18 along the pinch roller 77. Then, in this state, the tape streamer drive 100
Thus, the magnetic tape 4 is caused to travel at a constant speed, the rotary drum 18 is rotated, and a recording operation or a reproducing operation is performed on the magnetic tape 4 by a recording head or a reproducing head provided on the rotary drum 18.

Next, the configuration of a loading mechanism for realizing the above-described loading operation will be schematically described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a loading mechanism. As shown in FIG.
0, a first transmission mechanism 22 driven by the driving mechanism 21, and a first transmission mechanism 2
2 and a third transmission mechanism 24 driven by the second transmission mechanism 23. Further, the loading mechanism is a first magnetic tape operating mechanism 2 that is moved and operated by the first transmission mechanism 22.
5, second magnetic tape operating mechanisms 26 and 27 that are moved and operated by the second transmission mechanism 23, and third magnetic tape operating mechanisms 28 and 29 that are moved and operated by the third transmission mechanism 24. It is composed.

The drive mechanism 21 is disposed inside the housing 15 on one side plate 19 side. The driving mechanism 21 includes a loading motor 30 in which a driving gear 32 is attached to a driving shaft 31, and a driving gear 32 of the loading motor 30.
The worm shaft 33 has one end meshed with the worm shaft 33, and the worm wheel 34 meshed with the other end of the worm shaft 33.

The first transmission mechanism 22 is disposed on the drive mechanism 21 on the side where the tape cassette 2 is inserted. First
As shown in FIG. 6, the transmission mechanism 22 includes a lower arm drive gear 35 meshed with the worm wheel 34, and an upper arm drive gear 37 having a support shaft 36 aligned with the lower arm drive gear 35. Be composed. The lower arm drive gear 35 is provided with an upper arm drive gear 3 by an optical sensor.
A position detection plate 38 for detecting the rotational position of the motor 7 is attached. Then, the drive position of the loading mechanism corresponding to each mode such as eject, search, and stop is detected by the position detection plate 38 and the optical sensor.

The first magnetic tape operating mechanism 25 is disposed above the first transmission mechanism 22 as can be seen from FIG. Then, the first magnetic tape operating mechanism 25
Is a substantially fan-shaped arm gear 39 meshed with the upper arm drive gear 37, and a substantially long plate-shaped arm 41 having one end overlapped with the arm gear 39 so that the support shaft 40 coincides with the arm gear 39.
And a substantially cylindrical first moving tape guide 42 erected at the other end of the arm 40. In addition, the substrate 85 is fixed to the lower surface side of the chassis 81 as shown in FIG. A reflection type optical sensor 84 for detecting the rotational position of the upper arm drive gear 37 is mounted on the substrate 85.

The second transmission mechanism 23 includes the first transmission mechanism 2
2 is located on the other side of the rotary drum 18 on the side where the tape cassette 2 is inserted. Second transmission mechanism 23
The first lower ring driving gear 43 meshed with the lower arm driving gear 35 as shown in FIG.
A first upper ring drive gear 45 arranged with the support shaft 44 coincident with the lower ring drive gear 43, and a first ring gear 46 meshed with the first upper ring drive gear 45
And Further, the second transmission mechanism 23 has a second upper ring drive gear 47 meshed with the first lower ring drive gear 43 and a support shaft 48 aligned with the second upper ring drive gear 47. A second lower ring driving gear 49 is provided, and a second ring gear 50 meshed with the second lower ring driving gear 49 is provided.

The second magnetic tape operating mechanism 26 is disposed above the second transmission mechanism 23. The second magnetic tape operating mechanism 26 includes a first coaster 54 rotatably supported by a support shaft 53 erected on the outer peripheral edge of the first ring gear 46, and the first coaster 54. A substantially cylindrical second moving tape guide 55 erected on the coaster 54 and a substantially cylindrical third moving tape guide 56 provided on the first coaster 54 so as to be inclined toward the rotary drum 18. It is provided with.

Further, the second magnetic tape operating mechanism 27
It is located above the second transmission mechanism 23.
The second magnetic tape operating mechanism 27 includes a second coaster 58 rotatably supported by a support shaft 57 erected on the outer peripheral edge of the second ring gear 50, and a second coaster 58. A substantially cylindrical fourth moving tape guide 59 erected on a coaster 58 and a rotating drum 1
An approximately column-shaped fifth moving tape guide 60 is provided to be inclined to the 8 side.

The third transmission mechanism 24 includes the second transmission mechanism 2
3, on the other side plate 20 side inside the housing 15. The third transmission mechanism 24 is provided with the cam gear 6 meshed with the second upper ring drive gear 47.
1, a drive lever 62 disposed on the cam gear 61 and a drive arm 63 disposed on the drive lever 62.

As shown in FIG. 6, the cam gear 61 has a first cam groove 6 around a shaft hole 65 supported by a shaft 64.
6 are provided, and a second cam groove 67 is provided around the periphery of the first cam groove 66. The first cam groove 66 is formed in a substantially spiral shape over substantially one circumference from between the outer peripheral portion of the cam gear 61 and the support shaft 64 to the vicinity of the support shaft hole 65. The second cam groove 67 is formed in a substantially spiral shape over substantially one round from the outer peripheral portion of the cam gear 61 to the vicinity of the terminal end of the first cam groove 66.

The third magnetic tape operating mechanism 28 is disposed above the third transmission mechanism 24. The third magnetic tape operating mechanism 28 includes a tape guide arm 74 disposed to engage with the drive lever 62,
The tape guide arm 74 has a substantially cylindrical sixth moving tape guide 75 erected at the distal end thereof. One end of the tape guide arm 74 is rotatably supported by a support shaft (not shown) provided upright on the chassis 81.

Further, the third magnetic tape operating mechanism 29 includes:
It is located above the third transmission mechanism 24.
The third magnetic tape operating mechanism 29 includes a substantially inverted L-shaped pinch roller arm 76 disposed so that the drive arm 63 and the support shaft coincide with each other.
A pinch roller 77 rotatably supported at the tip of
A substantially inverted L-shaped pressing arm 78 is provided so as to be engaged with the cam gear 61. The pinch roller arm 76
The other end of the coil spring 73 having one end attached to the drive arm 63 is attached to the center.

4. Control Operation of Loading Mechanism Hereinafter, the tape streamer drive 100 according to the present embodiment will be described.
The control operation of the loading mechanism will be described.
First, the loading state of the magnetic tape 4 at each mechanical position of the tape streamer drive 100 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Each mechanical position of the tape streamer drive 100 is determined by the optical sensor 84 of the loading mechanism described above and the optical sensor 84 obtained from the position detection plate 38 (see FIG. 7) of the lower arm drive gear 35.
Output.

FIG. 8A shows the magnetic tape 4 when the mechanical position is set to, for example, the "unthread" position indicating the eject / load state of the tape cassette 7.
Is shown. In this case, the loading of the magnetic tape 4 onto the rotating drum 18 has not been executed.

FIG. 8B shows the loading state of the magnetic tape 4 when the mechanical position is at the "stop" position indicating the standby state. In this case, the loading of the magnetic tape 4 onto the rotating drum 18 is performed by the loading mechanism described above, and the magnetic tape 4 is brought into contact with the rotating drum 18. However, in this case, the tension pickup for detecting the tape tension applied to the magnetic tape 4 is turned off. Further, in order to make the magnetic tape 4 run at a constant speed, the pinch roller 77 holding the magnetic tape 4 together with the capstan 83 is opened (off).

FIG. 8C shows the loading state of the magnetic tape 4 when the mechanical position is at the "search" position indicating the high-speed search state. In this case, the loading of the magnetic tape 4 onto the rotating drum 18 is performed by the loading mechanism. However, in this case, the tension pickup is turned on. A pinch roller 7 for moving the magnetic tape 4 at a constant speed;
7 is turned off.

FIG. 8D shows the loading state of the magnetic tape 4 when the mechanical position is at the "forward" position indicating the recording / reproducing state in the forward / reverse direction. In this case, the loading of the magnetic tape 4 onto the rotating drum 18 is performed by the loading mechanism. However, at this time, the tension pickup is turned on, and the pinch roller 77 for moving the magnetic tape 4 at a constant speed is turned on.

That is, the tape streamer drive 1 of this embodiment
At 00, the loading of the magnetic tape 4 by the loading mechanism is executed, for example, except when the mechanical position is located at “unthread”. The operation of such a loading mechanism is controlled by the system controller 115. When the system controller 115 controls the operation of the loading mechanism, the system controller 115 transmits a command signal for causing the servo controller 116 to execute a loading operation via the IF / ECC controller 122.

The servo controller 116 drives the above-described loading motor 31 via a mechanical driver 117 based on a command signal from the system controller 115. In addition, the servo controller 116 detects whether the loading operation in the loading mechanism is normally performed. For example, the servo controller 116 cannot detect the end of the loading operation even after a lapse of a predetermined time from the start of the loading operation. At the time, the loading motor timeout (hereinafter, “LM
ERR ") in the IF / EC
System controller 1 via C controller 122
15 is returned. The communication between the system controller 115 and the servo controller 116 is performed, for example, by full-duplex bidirectional communication, and is performed every time the rotating drum 18 rotates.

The loading motor 31 that is driven and controlled by the servo controller 116 via the mechanical driver 117 is normally supplied with a constant-level drive voltage signal from the servo driver 116. That is, during a normal loading operation, the loading motor 31 is driven by a constant-level voltage signal supplied from the servo driver 116 as shown in FIG.

However, when the loading motor 31 is driven by the constant voltage signal, the torque obtained by the loading motor 31 is large at the start of the voltage supply as shown in FIG. 9A, after which the normal loading operation is started. It is reduced to a level that does not hinder the operation. For this reason, if the load on the loading motor 31 temporarily increases under certain conditions such as the incorporation of foreign matter in the loading mechanism or the wear of the motor, the torque is insufficient and the magnetic tape 4 is pulled out from the tape cassette 7. And a loading error occurs.

Therefore, in this embodiment, when the LMERR error flag is returned to the system controller 115, the system controller 115 resets the loading motor 31 again if the returned error flag is, for example, the first time. A command signal for driving by the voltage signal is transmitted to the servo controller 116.
That is, when the operation error of the loading motor is the first time, the system controller 115 executes the retry of the drive control of the loading motor by the constant voltage signal.

And still, the servo controller 11
When the error flag of LMERR is returned from 6,
In other words, when the error flag of the LMERR is continuously returned two or more times, a torque larger than that when the loading motor 31 is driven by the constant voltage signal is obtained. For example, a pulse voltage such as PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) is obtained. A command signal for driving by a square wave voltage signal is transmitted to the servo controller 116.
That is, if the operation error of the loading motor is two or more times, the system controller 115 switches from the constant voltage signal to the pulse voltage signal and executes the retry of the loading motor drive control.

In this case, the driving voltage supplied from the servo controller 116 to the loading motor 31 is as shown in FIG.
FIG. 9B shows a pulse voltage signal as shown in FIG. 9B, and the torque obtained by the loading motor 31 at this time is as shown in FIG.
As shown by a broken line, a large torque can be obtained every time the pulse voltage signal is supplied.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when the loading motor 31 is driven at a constant voltage and an operation error occurs due to a shortage of torque of the loading motor 31 due to some temporary factor, Since the problem can be solved when the loading motor 31 is driven by the pulse voltage signal, the frequency of occurrence of the loading motor error can be significantly reduced as compared with the related art.

In the present embodiment, the driving voltage signal of the loading motor 31 during a normal loading operation is a constant voltage signal, and driving with a pulse voltage is an operation error when the loading motor 31 is driven at a constant voltage. Loading motor 3
When the motor 1 is driven by the pulse voltage signal, there is almost no problem in shortening the motor life, delaying the loading speed, and increasing the loading noise due to the increased wear of the motor.

If the operation error of the loading motor 31 is not resolved even after the retry of the loading operation by the pulse voltage signal (for example, three times including the retry by the constant voltage signal), a necessary processing is performed as a loading motor error. Should be executed.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing operation of the system controller 15 for realizing the above-described loading operation. First, in step S001, the system controller 115 transmits a command signal for driving the loading motor 31 at a constant voltage to the servo controller 116. In response, the servo controller 116 performs an operation of driving the loading motor 31 with the constant voltage signal.

In step S002, the system controller 115 detects whether or not the LMERR error flag has been returned from the servo controller 116 via the IF / ECC controller 122.
If there is no reply of the RR error flag, step S00
The process proceeds to step S3, where "0" is substituted for a variable i indicating the number of operation errors of the loading motor 31, for example, and the loading motor process is terminated.

On the other hand, when the LMERR error flag is returned from the servo controller 116 in step S002, the process proceeds to step S004, where a reset command is transmitted to the servo controller 116 and the number of operation errors of the loading motor 31 is determined. Is added to the variable i indicating, and the process proceeds to step S005.

In step S005, it is determined whether or not the value of the variable i indicating the number of retries is equal to or less than "1". If the variable i is equal to or less than "1", the flow advances to step S006 to drive the loading motor 31 by the voltage driving. And returns to step S001 to transmit a command signal for driving the loading motor 31 with the constant voltage signal.

When the LMERR error flag is returned again from the servo controller 116 even after the retry as described above, the value of the variable i exceeds "1" in step S005, and therefore the process proceeds to step S007. Here, it is determined whether or not the variable i is equal to or less than “3”, and if the value of the variable i is equal to or less than “3”, step S00
8, the loading motor 31 is retried with the pulse voltage signal, and the process returns to step S001.
A command signal for driving the loading motor with the pulse voltage signal is transmitted. Accordingly, the servo controller 16 applies the pulse voltage signal as described in FIG. 9B to the loading motor 1 to execute the loading operation.

In step S009, when the value of the variable i indicating the number of operation errors of the loading motor 31 exceeds "3", that is, even if the retry is performed twice with the pulse voltage signal, the operation error still occurs. When it becomes
In step S009, a necessary loading motor error process is executed as a loading motor error, and the loading motor control process is terminated.

In the present embodiment, when the number of operation errors of the loading motor 31 is the first time, the loading motor 31 is retried by the constant voltage drive, and when the number of operation errors is the second or third time, the pulse is used. Although the loading motor 31 is controlled by voltage driving, this is merely an example, and it is of course possible to retry by pulse voltage driving from the first operation error of the loading motor 31.

[0069]

As described above, in the tape drive of the present invention, for example, during normal operation, the loading motor drive control means drives and controls the loading motor with a constant voltage signal. When the operation error of the loading motor cannot be eliminated by the constant voltage driving, the driving of the loading motor is controlled by switching to the pulse voltage signal. As a result, even if an operation error occurs due to a lack of torque of the loading motor under certain conditions, the driving error of the loading motor can be eliminated, so that the frequency of occurrence of the loading motor error can be reduced as compared with the related art. Can be.

If an operation error occurs when the driving of the loading motor is controlled by the constant voltage signal,
For example, the retry drive control of the loading motor is performed again by the constant voltage signal, and if the operation error is still not resolved, the driving control is switched to the loading motor by the square wave voltage signal. In other words, when the loading motor is driven and controlled by the constant voltage signal, the drive control is performed by the pulse voltage signal only when an operation error is definitely caused. Therefore, even if the loading motor is driven by the pulse voltage signal, the motor life is shortened. There is hardly anything to do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a tape streamer drive according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of a tape cassette corresponding to the tape streamer drive of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of a loading mechanism of the tape streamer drive according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view of a loading mechanism of the tape streamer drive according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a loading mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a meshing state of each gear of the loading mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a position detection mechanism of the loading mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a loading state at each mechanical position of the loading mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a driving voltage waveform of a loading motor.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a loading processing operation in the system controller.

[Explanation of symbols]

18 rotating drum, 31 loading motor, 10
0 tape streamer drive, 115 system controller, 116 servo controller, 117 mechanical driver, 122 IF / ECC controller

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yasuaki Kano 6-7-35 Kita Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Inside Sony Corporation (72) Inventor Osamu Nakamura 6-35 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo No. Sony Corporation

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A tape drive device comprising a tape loading means capable of pulling out a magnetic tape stored in a tape cassette and winding the magnetic tape around a rotary drum having a recording / reproducing head. Loading motor drive control means for controlling the loading motor of the tape loading means by a constant voltage signal and switching the loading motor to drive control by a square wave voltage signal when an operation error is detected at that time. A tape drive device comprising: 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said loading motor drive control means performs a retry drive control by a constant voltage control with a predetermined number of times as an upper limit when an operation error occurs in the drive control by the constant voltage signal. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein when an operation error occurs even after the control, the drive control is switched to the drive control based on the square wave voltage signal.
2. The tape drive device according to 1.