JP2002175660A - Library system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the performance of a library system and to prolong the life of a conveyance robot by providing the conveyance robot of the library system with a recording medium holding and sorting mechanism section thereby efficiently lessening the reciprocating action of a conveyance robot by accompanying the conveyance of the recording media. SOLUTION: The conveyance robot is provided with the recording medium holding and sorting mechanism section capable of holding the plural recording media and housing the recording media after sorting the same, by which the recording medium conveyance performance of the library system is greatly improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a library apparatus, and more particularly, to a compact and space-saving library apparatus having improved recording medium conveyance performance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a library apparatus having a large-scale and complicated mechanism, there is an increasing demand from users for supporting an open apparatus. On the other hand, in the previous library apparatus, the dual transfer robot system was applied to improve the reliability and transfer performance, and it was very difficult to reduce the size. In order to solve this problem, single transfer robots are now widely used, contributing to miniaturization and space reduction.

[0003] On the other hand, on the other hand, in a library apparatus having a dual transfer robot, a recording medium can be transferred by two transfer robots as transfer means.
It is necessary to transport the recording medium by one transport robot. In this case, when a transfer instruction of the recording medium is issued from the library control device, the transfer robot, which is the transfer means, accesses the shelf in which the specified recording medium is stored and stores the recording medium. The recording medium is transported to a recording / reproducing apparatus. At this time, even if a new recording medium conveyance instruction is issued from a higher order, the recording medium conveyance instruction from the higher order cannot be executed until the conveyance robot finishes the first recording medium conveyance instruction.

In the case of an instruction to insert a recording medium involving a large amount of processing at a time, a large amount of recording medium inserted from an entry port is accessed for each recording medium, and then the target is set. Since the recording medium needs to be transported to the storage shelves, the transport robot reciprocates between the entry port and the storage shelves each time, and the reduction in efficiency becomes more remarkable. In other words, the transfer from the dual transfer robot configuration due to the miniaturization and space saving to the single transfer robot configuration lowers the recording medium transfer performance of the library device, and further increases the transfer operation time. The reduction in the service life of the metal has been cited as a major problem.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned prior art, when a recording medium conveyance instruction is issued from a higher order, the library device divides the conveyance information for each recording medium, and then transfers the conveyance robot based on the information. Has performed a series of operations of accessing the target storage shelf, storing the recording medium, and then transporting the recording medium to the target storage shelf or recording / reproducing apparatus. In such an operation mode, once the transport robot holds the recording medium, it is not possible to execute a next recording medium transport instruction from a higher order until the operation of transporting the recording medium to the transport target is completed. .

In the meantime, even if there is a recording medium to be transported specified by the next recording medium transport instruction from a higher order, between the storage rack serving as the base point and the target storage shelf or recording / reproducing apparatus, With the current structure of the library device, it is impossible at all to efficiently accept the access to the recording medium as an interrupt until the transfer process instructed from the host is completed.
For this reason, in the transport operation of the transport robot, even when receiving an instruction from a higher order to sequentially transport the recording media in the same storage shelf, the transport robot must transport one recording medium at a time, and during this time, reciprocates along the same route. The inefficient operation of doing so is repeated. Such a restriction causes a decrease in the transfer performance of the library apparatus, and further causes a decrease in the wear and life of the transfer robot with an increase in the transfer operation time.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a function of holding a plurality of recording media on a transfer robot of a library control device.
It is also possible to simultaneously hold and store a recording medium that requires a transfer in a transfer instruction from a higher order after that point on the transfer robot, thereby reducing unnecessary reciprocating operations of the transfer robot and improving the transfer performance of the library device. Another object is to extend the life of the transfer robot.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording medium capable of holding a plurality of recording media and selecting the held plurality of recording media to perform an operation of handling a storage shelf and a recording / reproducing apparatus. This is achieved by constructing the holding / selecting mechanism in the vicinity of the recording medium pull-out / insertion mechanism of the transfer robot unit as the transfer means, that is, in a portion adjacent to the pull-out / insertion mechanism or a portion moved horizontally or vertically. As an example of this mechanism, there is a mechanism that has a structure in which shelves for holding and storing recording media are stacked in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction, and can drive the shelves up and down.

The means for achieving the object of the present invention will be described in further detail. The library apparatus receives a first recording medium transport instruction from a host, and a transport robot, which is a transport means, controls a shelf in which the recording medium is stored. Head to. At this time, the transport robot control unit refers to the recording medium transport instruction from the second upper level, and determines whether or not there is a recording medium to be transported by the subsequent recording medium transport instruction on the intermediate route to the target storage medium storage shelf. Judge. If there is, the recording medium is temporarily stopped on the shelf in which the recording medium to be conveyed by the second conveyance instruction is stored, and the recording medium is stored and held in the recording medium holding / selecting mechanism provided in the transfer robot.

Further, if the recording medium holding / selecting mechanism of the transfer robot is in a state capable of holding the recording medium, the recording medium to be conveyed in accordance with the recording medium conveyance instruction from the third higher order is the first.
It is determined whether or not the recording medium to be transported is present on the path to the target storage shelf, and if it is present, the transport robot is once again stored in the storage medium to be transported by the third recording medium transport instruction. The storage medium is stopped on the shelf and the storage medium is stored and held in the storage medium holding and sorting mechanism. Further, when there is a recording medium conveyance instruction from a higher order, a series of operations of storing and holding the specified recording medium in the recording medium holding and sorting mechanism of the conveyance robot based on the same determination method are repeated. That is,
The library device controller divides the transport instruction so as to reduce the reciprocating motion of the transport robot as much as possible based on the plurality of recording medium transport instructions instructed from the higher order, and issues the instruction to the transport robot controller, The transport robot can transport the recording medium while minimizing the reciprocating operation.

As described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium holding / selecting mechanism on a transfer robot of a library apparatus so that a conventional storage robot can hold only one recording medium. Function of the library unit control unit and transfer robot control unit,
To construct a function of holding a plurality of recording media on a transport robot, sorting each recording medium for each target storage shelf or recording / reproducing apparatus, performing a handling operation, and transporting the recording medium to the target storage shelf or recording / reproducing apparatus. Is achieved by

The operation mechanism of the means for achieving the object of the present invention based on the above configuration is as follows.

When the library apparatus receives an instruction to convey a recording medium, the library apparatus control section determines whether or not the recording medium to be conveyed exists on the first conveyance path. And instructing the transfer robot control unit to store a recording medium having a transfer instruction existing on the route in the recording medium holding / selecting mechanism unit. When a plurality of recording medium transport instructions are issued from a higher order, it is impossible with the conventional method to process the next recording medium transport instruction until one recording medium transport processing is completed. However, according to the means for achieving the object of the present invention, it is possible to simultaneously process a plurality of transfer instructions from a higher order in one reciprocating operation, so that the transfer capacity of the library device is improved, and the total transfer time is improved. , The life of the transfer robot can be extended, and the object of the present invention is achieved.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a transfer robot of the library apparatus, FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the library apparatus, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a recording medium holding and selecting mechanism of the transfer robot, and FIG. FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of a process in which a library medium control unit divides a recording medium transport instruction into operation instructions for each recording medium and transmits the instruction to a transport robot control unit, and an example of the operation of a recording medium holding and sorting mechanism.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a storage shelf, 2 is a transfer robot, 3 is a horizontal drive mechanism of the transfer robot, 4 is a vertical drive mechanism of the transfer robot, 5 is a rotary drive mechanism of the transfer robot, and 6 is an insert. A draw-out mechanism, 7 is a handling mechanism for handling the insertion and removal of the recording medium into and out of the recording medium holding / selecting mechanism, 8 is a recording medium holding / selecting mechanism, and 9 is a recording medium (1/2 inch cartridge magnetic tape or 8 mm).
Reference numeral 22 denotes a recording / reproducing device (such as a magnetic tape device, an optical disk device, or a magnetic disk device).

2, reference numeral 10 denotes a host device, 11 denotes a library control device, 12 denotes a memory, 13 denotes a transfer robot control device, 14 denotes a vertical movement axis motor drive device, 15 denotes a vertical movement axis speed recognition device, and 16 denotes a vertical movement axis speed recognition device. A moving axis position recognizing device, 17 is an encoder output, and 18 is a recording medium holding and selecting mechanism driving device.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 8 denotes a recording medium holding / selecting mechanism, 19 denotes a recording medium handling port, 20 denotes a holding shelf driving unit, and 21 denotes a recording medium holding shelf.

In FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3, the library device includes a transfer robot 2 and a storage shelf 1 attached to both sides of the transfer robot 2 in the horizontal movement direction, and a recording / reproducing device 22 for recording / reproducing the recording medium 9. And a library control device 11, a memory 12 for recording control information, a transfer robot control device 13, a vertical movement axis motor drive device 14, a vertical movement axis speed recognition device 15, and a vertical movement axis position recognition device 16. Further, the transport robot 2 includes a horizontal drive mechanism 3, a vertical drive mechanism 4, a rotation drive mechanism 5 for adjusting a direction in which a recording medium is put into and taken out of the storage shelf 1 and the recording / reproducing device 22, and a recording medium. Inserts into and out of storage shelves
It comprises a drawing mechanism section 6, a recording medium holding / selecting mechanism section 8, and a handling mechanism section 7 for handling handling of taking out / in the recording medium to / from the recording medium holding / selecting mechanism section.

First, as a comparative example, the operation of the entire conventional single-transport robot-structured library apparatus will be described for a case where the recording medium 9 is moved from an arbitrary storage shelf 1 to an arbitrary recording / reproducing apparatus 22. In this case, in FIG. 2, the recording medium holding / selecting mechanism driving device is not provided. In FIG. 2, a command to move the recording medium 9 to the recording / reproducing device 22 is issued from the host device 10 to the library control device 11. Upon receiving the move command, the library control device 11 searches the storage location of the recording medium 9 from the memory 12, and adds the position information to the instruction to remove the recording medium 9 and sets the target to the instruction to store the recording medium 9. The command is divided into commands to which the position information of the recording / reproducing device 22 is added, and the commands are issued to the transfer robot controller 13. The transfer robot controller 13 that has received the recording medium 9 removal instruction or storage instruction moves each drive mechanism to the position indicated by the additional information, removes the recording medium 9, and stores it in the transportation robot 2. An operation of holding the data (holding operation) is performed. When this operation is completed, the library control device 11 next instructs the transfer robot control device 13 to the storage shelf 1 or the recording / reproducing device 22 to which the recording medium is to be transferred, and the transfer robot control device 13 accordingly transfers the storage medium. The robot 2 is operated to store the recording medium 9 in a predetermined storage space (storage operation). The above is the procedure for transporting the recording medium in the conventional single transport robot structure library apparatus.

Next, a specific operation in the present invention will be described. In this case, in FIG. 2, a recording medium holding and selecting mechanism driving device is installed, and the function of the present invention is realized. The recording medium 9 is sent from the host device 10 to the library control device 11.
Is issued, the library control device 11 stores the storage position of the recording medium 9 in the memory 1.
2 and is divided into a command in which the position information is added to the instruction to take out the recording medium 9 and a command in which the position information of the target recording / reproducing device 22 is added to the instruction to store the recording medium 9. It is issued to the control device 13.
The transfer robot control device 13 that has received the recording medium 9 removal instruction or storage instruction moves each drive shaft to the position specified by the additional information, removes the recording medium 9, and selects the recording medium holding on the transportation robot 2. The operation of storing the information in the mechanism unit 8 is executed.

At this time, the library control device 11 refers to the next instruction from the host device 10 and
Then, it is determined whether or not there is a recording medium 9 to be conveyed on the path to the conveyance target of the recording medium 9 held by the printer according to the instruction from the next higher order.
When the recording medium 9 specified by the next transport instruction from the higher-level device 10 is present in the movement path of the current transport instruction, the library controller 11 sends the transport robot controller 12 a command from the higher-level device 10. An instruction is given to the transport robot controller 13 to store the recording medium 9 in the storage shelf 1 or the recording / reproducing device 22 in which the recording medium specified by the next transport instruction is stored.

At this time, if the recording medium 9 instructed to be conveyed by the host device 10 is further present in the path to the target storage shelf 1 of the two recording media 9 or the recording / reproducing device 22,
The library control device 11 includes a transfer robot control device 13
Then, an instruction is given to the transport robot controller 13 to store the recording medium 9 from the storage shelf 1 or the recording / reproducing device 22 in which the recording medium 9 is stored. The transfer robot 2 accesses the storage shelf 1 or the recording / reproducing device 22 specified by the transfer robot control device 13 and stores the specified recording medium 9 in the recording medium holding / selecting mechanism 8.

In this way, for the recording medium 9 stored in the recording medium holding / selecting mechanism 8, the transport robot controller 13 sends the library controller 11
Among the target storage shelves 1 or the recording / reproducing device 22 designated by the user, the storage shelves 1 closest to the current position of the transfer robot.
Alternatively, the user accesses the target storage shelf 1 or the recording / reproducing apparatus 22 while rearranging the recording medium 9 held in the recording medium holding / selecting mechanism 8 in the order of the recording medium 9 to be conveyed to the recording / reproducing apparatus 22, and I store 9 In addition, as the number of recording media 9 that can be stored in the recording medium holding / selecting mechanism 8 increases, the transport efficiency of the transport robot 2 improves.

An embodiment of the recording medium conveying / storing operation of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to a control flowchart of a conveying robot shown in FIG. The host device 10 is the library control device 1
The first instruction is to move the recording medium in the storage shelf A to the magnetic tape device A, which is a recording / reproducing device, and the second instruction is to move the recording medium in the storage shelf B to the magnetic tape device B as a first instruction. As a third instruction, an instruction to move the recording medium in the magnetic tape device C to the storage shelf C was issued.

Upon receipt of these instructions, the library control device searches the memory 12 for the storage position of the recording medium, positions the transport robot on the storage shelf A as a first instruction, and places the recording medium in the first stage of the recording medium holding and sorting mechanism. Issue an instruction to store in. Subsequently, as a second instruction, a command to retrieve the storage position of the recording medium from the memory 12, position the transport robot on the storage shelf B, and store the recording medium in the second stage of the recording medium holding / selecting mechanism is issued.

Further, as a third instruction, an instruction is issued to position the transport robot in the magnetic tape device A (MTUA) and store the recording medium held in the first stage of the recording medium holding / selecting mechanism in the magnetic tape device A. . Subsequently, as a fourth instruction, the transfer robot is moved to the magnetic tape device B (MTU).
B), and issues a command to store the recording medium held in the second stage of the recording medium holding / selecting mechanism unit in the magnetic tape device B.

Further, as a fifth instruction, an instruction is issued to position the transport robot in the magnetic tape device C (MTUC) and store the recording medium in the second stage of the recording medium holding and sorting mechanism. Subsequently, as a sixth instruction, a command is issued to position the transport robot on the storage shelf C and store the recording medium held in the second stage of the recording medium holding and sorting mechanism in the storage shelf C.

Upon receiving these instructions, the transport robot controller operates the transport robot and the recording medium holding / selecting mechanism in accordance with the respective instructions to carry out the transport and storage operations of each recording medium. The lower part of FIG. 4 shows an operation example of the recording medium holding and selecting mechanism. In this example, a case is shown in which the recording medium according to the present embodiment is stored in the first row, and then the recording medium is stored in the second row. In the rightmost figure, the first stage is cut out to show the second stage.

On the other hand, in the conventional example, the transport robot has to repeat taking out, transporting, and storing each recording medium, and the transport efficiency is significantly reduced as compared with the present embodiment.

As described above, according to the present invention, the provision of the recording medium holding / selecting mechanism 8 in the transfer robot 2 makes it possible to efficiently suppress the redundant operation of the transfer robot and improve the transfer performance of the library device. Can be improved.

[0032]

According to the present invention, by adding a recording medium holding and sorting mechanism to a transport robot, the recording medium transport performance can be reduced without changing the external shape and operation specifications of a compact and space-saving library device. And the life of the transfer robot can be extended.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a transfer robot of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the library device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a recording medium holding and sorting mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a control flowchart of a transport robot of the present invention and an operation example of a recording medium holding and selecting mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Storage shelf, 2 ... Transport robot, 3 ... Horizontal drive mechanism part,
4: Vertical drive mechanism, 5: Rotary drive mechanism, 6: Insertion
Pull-out mechanism, 7 Handling mechanism, 8 Recording medium holding and sorting mechanism, 9 Recording medium, 10 Host device, 11
Library control device, 12 memory, 13 transport robot control device, 14 vertical movement axis motor drive device, 15
Vertical moving axis speed recognizing device, 16: vertical moving axis position recognizing device, 17: encoder output, 18: recording medium holding / selecting mechanism driving device, 19: recording medium handling port, 20: holding shelf driving unit, 21: recording medium holding Shelf, 22 ... Recording / reproducing device.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A recording medium, a recording medium storage shelf, a recording / reproducing apparatus for recording / reproducing data on / from the recording medium, and a recording medium from the storage shelf to the recording / reproducing apparatus or from the recording / reproducing apparatus. A library device having a transfer robot for transferring to the storage shelf and a control device for controlling the transfer robot, wherein the transfer robot has a function of holding a plurality of recording media. 2. The transfer robot, after being positioned at the storage shelf or the recording / reproducing device, pulls out / inserts a recording medium into / from the storage shelf or the recording / reproducing device by a pull-out / insertion mechanism. 2. The library apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a recording medium holding unit is provided near the pull-out / insertion mechanism. 3. The transport robot selects a recording medium to be stored in the storage shelf and a recording medium to be stored in the recording / reproducing apparatus from a plurality of recording media held by the recording medium holding unit. Transported to the storage shelf or the recording / reproducing device
3. The library device according to claim 2, further comprising a storage function.