JP2005078701A - Optical disk device and optical disk library system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sharply distinguish and detect a state that an optical head is contaminated by dust and a state that an optical disk medium is contaminated with dust by a simple configuration. <P>SOLUTION: The reflected light quantity from a reference disk is previously stored as a reference reflected light quantity Ri and the reflected light quantity Ra from the used disk and the reference reflected light quantity Ri are compared (S 301). When the reflected light quantity Ra from the used disk is smaller by more than the prescribed extend than the reference reflected light quantity Ri, mounting of the reference disk is urged (S 303). The reflected light quantity Ri 2 from the remounted reference disk and the reference reflected light quantity Ri are compared and when the reflected light quantity Ri 2 again from the reference disk is nearly equal to the reference reflected light quantity Ri, decision is made that the used disk is contaminated (S 307). When the reflected light quantity Ri 2 again from the reference disk is smaller by more than the prescribed extent than the reference reflected light quantity Ri, decision is made that the light quantity of the light beam declines. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical disc apparatus for recording and / or reproducing information on an optical disc medium, and an optical disc library system configured by integrating a plurality of optical disc apparatuses. The optical disk medium referred to here includes a phase change medium (CD-RW, DVD + RW, DVD-RW, Blu-ray Disk), a magneto-optical medium (MO, MD), a dye medium (CD-R, DVD + R, DVD-). R), preformat media (DVD-RAM), and the like. The optical disk device here includes not only a recording / reproducing operation with a removable medium mounted but also a recording / reproducing operation with an optical disk medium incorporated therein. In this specification, an optical disk medium may be simply referred to as an optical disk or a disk.

  For example, as an external storage device having a huge capacity for a large-scale computer system, an optical disc device or an optical disc library system configured by integrating a plurality of optical disc devices may be useful instead of a magnetic tape storage device. Has reached. High-density recording / recording can be achieved by increasing the NA of the optical head, adopting a front-illuminated medium that records and reproduces the light beam from the film surface side of the disk, or putting the short-wavelength laser diode to low cost. The reason is that reproduction has entered a practical stage, that data can be accessed at high speed, and that the disk medium itself can be used for a long period of time compared to magnetic tape.

  By the way, when a front illumination type optical disc medium is used, since adverse effects on recording / reproduction due to dirt such as dust adhering to the surface becomes remarkable, it is necessary to take measures. Further, in the optical disk apparatus, there is a concern that recording / reproduction cannot be performed normally with the deterioration of the light source and the adhesion of dust to the lens surface of the optical head as the usage period elapses.

  For example, Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2 detects the contamination level of the optical system in the optical disk device as the incident intensity of light to the detector, and notifies the user when the contamination level exceeds a reference value. An optical head that facilitates cleaning is disclosed. However, those shown in these documents do not provide an appropriate measure against the case where the surface of the optical disk is dirty.

  Further, Patent Document 3 discloses a technique in which scratches and dirt scattered on the surface of an optical disc medium are detected, and light beam control disturbance caused by such scratches and dirt is reduced as much as possible. Yes. However, the configuration shown in the same document has the disadvantage of recording / reproduction due to dirt uniformly attached to the surface of the optical disk medium, that is, the disadvantage of recording / reproduction due to the overall decrease in reflectance. It does not provide countermeasures to avoid appropriately.

JP-A-7-176104 JP-A-5-242554 JP-A-9-102163

  As described above, in the case where the optical disk device is contaminated by dust and the surface of the optical disk medium may be evenly contaminated, it is only necessary to detect that the incident intensity of light to the detector has changed. It is difficult to determine whether it is caused by the contamination of the optical head or the entire surface of the optical disk medium.

  On the other hand, when the total number of optical disk media reaches a considerable number in addition to the number of optical heads as in an optical disk library system configured by integrating a plurality of optical disk devices, an optical disk medium with a contaminated surface, or It is desirable to identify the optical head and deal with it as soon as possible. This is because such an optical disk library system is expected to be used as a large-capacity external storage device for a large-scale computer system that cannot be easily stopped.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical disc apparatus configured so that the state in which the optical head is contaminated with dust and the state in which the optical disc medium is contaminated with dust can be distinguished and detected with a simple configuration, and An object is to provide an optical disc library system in which a plurality of optical disc apparatuses are integrated.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following technical means.

An optical disc apparatus provided by the first aspect of the present invention is an optical disc apparatus that records and / or reproduces information on the optical disc while irradiating the recording surface of the disc with a light beam,
The amount of reflected light from the reference disk is stored as a reference reflected light amount, and the amount of reflected light from the used disk is compared with the above-mentioned reference reflected light amount. In some cases, prompt the installation of the reference disk,
Compare the amount of reflected light from the reattached reference disk with the above-mentioned reference reflected light amount. If the amount of reflected light from the reference disk is almost equal to the above-mentioned reference reflected light amount, it is determined that the used disk is contaminated. When the amount of reflected light from the reference disc is smaller than the reference reflected light amount by a predetermined amount or more, it is determined that the light amount of the light beam is reduced.

Preferably, the optical disc device is an optical disc device that records and / or reproduces information on the optical disc while irradiating a recording surface of the disc with a light beam,
A reflected light amount detecting means for detecting the reflected light amount from the disc;
Reference reflected light amount storage means for storing the reflected light amount detected by the reflected light amount detection means from the reference disk;
First comparison means for comparing the amount of reflected light detected by the reflected light amount detection means from a used disk other than the reference disk with the reference reflected light amount stored in the reference reflected light amount storage means;
A first notifying means for urging the user to mount the reference disk when the first comparison means determines that the reflected light amount from the used disk is smaller than the reference reflected light amount by a predetermined amount or more;
Second comparison means for comparing the reflected light quantity detected again by the reflected light quantity detection means from the reference disk mounted after the notification by the first notification means and the reference reflected light quantity stored in the storage means; ,
A second notifying unit for notifying that the used disk is contaminated when the second comparing means determines that the reflected light quantity again is substantially equal to the reference reflected light quantity;
Third notification means for notifying that the light amount of the light beam is reduced when the second comparison means determines that the reflected light amount is smaller than the reference reflected light amount by a predetermined amount or more. When,
Is provided.

  The optical disc apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is used with a replaceable medium attached thereto. When the amount of reflected light from the disc used is low, the cause of the optical system and the cause of the medium are considered. In the first aspect of the present invention, the cause is determined by a method of prompting the user to mount the reference disk again and comparing the reflected light amount with the stored reference reflected light amount. That is, when there is no decrease in the amount of reflected light from the reattached reference disk, there will be no deterioration or contamination of the optical system. This will be caused by surface contamination. Further, when the reflected light amount is also reduced with respect to the remounted reference disc, the optical system is deteriorated or contaminated. In this way, the cause of the decrease in the amount of reflected light from the disk used is found. As the reference disk, a new disk usable in the apparatus may be determined as the reference disk, or may be specially prepared and provided to the user together with the apparatus.

An optical disk apparatus provided by the second aspect of the present invention is an optical disk apparatus that records and / or reproduces information on this optical disk while irradiating a recording surface of a selected one of a plurality of loaded disks. There,
A disc selected from among a plurality of discs mounted at the time of setup is used as a reference disc, the amount of light reflected from this reference disc is stored as a reference amount of reflected light, and the first disc selected from the plurality of discs mounted at any time is selected. When the reflected light amount from the selected disk is compared with the reference reflected light amount, and the reflected light amount from the first selected disk is smaller than the reference reflected light amount by a predetermined amount or more, the other one or more second selected disks And when the reflected light amount from any of the second selected disks is substantially equal to the reference reflected light amount, it is determined that the first selected disk is contaminated. When the amount of reflected light from the second selected disk is smaller than the reference reflected light amount by a predetermined amount or more, the light amount of the light beam is reduced. It is characterized by determining.

Preferably, the optical disk apparatus is an optical disk apparatus that records and / or reproduces information on the optical disk while irradiating a recording surface of a selected one of a plurality of loaded disks with a light beam,
A reflected light amount detecting means for detecting the reflected light amount from the disc;
A reference reflected light amount storage means for storing the reflected light amount detected by the reflected light amount detection means from a selected disk among the plurality of mounted disks at the time of setup;
First comparing means for comparing the amount of reflected light from a first selected disk selected from the plurality of discs mounted at an arbitrary time with a reference amount of reflected light stored in the storage means;
When the first comparison unit determines that the amount of reflected light from the first selected disk is smaller than the reference reflected light amount by a predetermined amount or more, the reflected light amount detecting unit from one or more second selected disks. Second comparison means for comparing the reflected light amount detected by the reference reflected light amount stored in the storage means;
When the second comparison means determines that the amount of reflected light from any one of the second selected disks is substantially equal to the reference amount of reflected light, a first notifying that the first selected disk is contaminated. Notification means;
When the second comparison unit determines that the amount of reflected light from the second selected disk is smaller than the reference reflected light amount by a predetermined amount or more, it notifies that the light amount of the light beam has decreased. A second notification means;
Is provided.

In another preferred embodiment, the optical disc apparatus includes a blade casing, and the plurality of disks are mounted in a medium storage unit that is detachably mounted at one end of the blade casing.
A recording / reproducing unit that records and / or reproduces information with respect to the disk is disposed in the blade casing at a distance from the medium storage unit,
A selected one of the plurality of disks is moved between the medium storage unit and the recording / reproducing unit by a medium moving unit.

  The optical disc apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention mounts a plurality of discs, and transports one of them to a recording / reproducing unit by, for example, a changer (medium moving unit) for recording / reproducing. As will be described later, when a plurality of optical disk devices are integrated and expanded to a library system, the number of disks reaches a considerable number. The disk may be replaceable, but is not first replaced during normal use. When a plurality of discs identified by numbers are loaded, data recording is usually performed in order from the disc with the smallest number. Therefore, the disc with the smaller number has a higher recording / reproduction frequency and is transported by a changer. The number of times is expected to increase. From this, it can be considered that a plurality of discs at an arbitrary time after setup have different levels of contamination on the surface, and some discs have almost no contamination. The optical disc apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention is based on this.

  In such an optical disk device, if the amount of reflected light from any disk (first selected disk) is reduced at any time after setup, the cause of the optical system and the cause of the medium are considered. In the second aspect of the present invention, the amount of reflected light from a new disk is stored as a reference reflected light amount at the time of setup, and one or a plurality of other discs (second discs) different from the disc whose reflected light amount has decreased. The cause is determined by a method of comparing the reflected light amount from the selected disk) with the stored reference reflected light amount. That is, when the amount of reflected light from any of the second selected disks is substantially equal to the reference reflected light amount, the amount of reflected light from the almost unstained second selected disk is approximately the same as the reference reflected light amount. Therefore, there is no deterioration or contamination of the optical system. Therefore, the decrease in the amount of reflected light of the first selected disk is caused by surface contamination of the first selected disk. In addition, when the reflected light amount is reduced for any second selected disk, the reflected light amount is also reduced for the almost unstained disk, so the reflected light amount from the first selected disk is reduced. Is caused by deterioration or contamination of the optical system. In this way, the cause of the decrease in the amount of reflected light from the disk at an arbitrary time point is found.

An optical disk library system provided by the third aspect of the present invention includes a system housing in which a plurality of optical disk devices having the blade housing are detachably mounted;
The information processing apparatus is characterized by comprising a general unit that supervises recording and / or reproduction of information in each of the plurality of optical disk devices mounted on the system casing.

  As described above, for a plurality of optical disk devices, the contamination of the optical system or a considerable number of disk contaminations can be specified in addition to the number of optical disk devices. Safe continuation of the optical disk library system as a huge external storage device of a large-scale computer system by taking measures such as transferring to another optical disk device or transferring the data of a disc with a dirty surface to another disk Driving is possible.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description given below with reference to the drawings.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a magneto-optical disk apparatus 100 which is an example of an optical disk apparatus to which the first aspect of the present invention is applied. The disk D is replaceable and is mounted on the spindle motor 101 and rotated. The optical head 110 for irradiating the recording surface of the disk D with a light beam includes a laser diode as a light source, an optical unit 111 including a photoelectric converter that converts reflected light from the disk D into an electrical signal, and a light source. The objective lens 112 for irradiating the recording surface of the disk D as a light spot with the laser beam emitted from is included. The light reflected by the recording surface of the disk D returns to the optical unit 111 along the same path, and is converted into an analog electric signal by the photoelectric converter. This analog electric signal is transmitted to the RF circuit 120, where predetermined analog signal processing is performed to generate a focus error signal, a track error signal, and a reproduction signal. The RF circuit 120 can also detect the reflectivity of the disk D corresponding to the amount of light reflected from the disk D of the present invention. Therefore, in the case of this example, the RF circuit 120 corresponds to the reflected light amount detection means referred to in the present invention. The RF circuit 120 also generates a pulse signal detected from a fine clock mark formed on the track of the disk D. The light source of the optical unit 111 is driven by the laser drive circuit 121. Note that the reflectance can be detected based on an electrical signal output from the RF circuit 120 to the servo control circuit 122. In this case, as the electrical signal output from the RF circuit 120, the offset component of the focus error signal or the offset component of the track error signal can be used.

  The optical head 110 is also provided with a two-dimensional actuator 113 that minutely drives the objective lens 112 in the focus direction and the tracking direction (radial direction of the disk D). The track error signal, focus error signal, and pulse signal generated by the RF circuit 120 are supplied to the servo control circuit 122 as input signals. The servo control circuit 122 drives the two-dimensional actuator 113 through the actuator driving means 128 under the control of the CPU 124 based on the track error signal and the focus error signal, so that the light spot is properly on the track of the disk D. The position of the objective lens 112 in the focus direction and the tracking direction is controlled so as to move while maintaining the spot diameter. The servo control circuit 122 also controls the rotation of the spindle motor 101 via the spindle motor driving circuit 123 so that the light spot moves on the track at an appropriate linear velocity based on the pulse signal, and also receives a command from the CPU 124. Thus, rotation / stop control of the disk D is performed.

  The reproduction signal output from the RF circuit 120 is converted into a digital signal by the signal processing circuit 125. The entire apparatus is also controlled by the CPU 124. A memory (ROM) 126 storing a program for performing various controls of the entire apparatus is provided in the CPU 124 or attached to the CPU 124. Further, the optical disc apparatus 100 is provided with a non-volatile memory (FRAM) 127 for appropriately storing the reflectance.

  In the above description, the configuration focusing on the function at the time of reproducing the disk has been described. However, in the magneto-optical disk apparatus that performs recording / reproducing, when information recording is performed by the pulse modulation method, There are known configurations such as a configuration for controlling the light source, a configuration for applying an external magnetic field to the disk D, or a configuration for controlling the magnetic head when information recording is performed by a magnetic field modulation method. Needless to say, it is added.

  In the above configuration, the reflectance of the disk D is used, for example, to control the laser drive circuit 121 and adjust the emission intensity of the laser light source so that the reflectance detected as described above does not decrease. However, for example, dirt adheres to the surface of the objective lens 112, and as the degree of the contamination increases, the adjustment of the light emission intensity of the laser light source does not catch up, and eventually the detected reflectance decreases. The same applies when the laser light source is deteriorated. Similarly, when the entire surface of the recording surface of the disk D is contaminated and the degree of the contamination increases, the detected reflectance decreases in the same manner. In the case of the optical disc apparatus 100 using a replaceable disc medium, this disc may be replaced when the disc D is dirty. However, when the laser light source is deteriorated or the lens surface is dirty. The maintenance of the optical system is necessary. As described above, the coping method differs depending on what causes the decrease in the reflectance of the detected disk D. Therefore, it is desirable to be able to easily identify the cause of the decrease in reflectance.

  The optical disc apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is configured so that the cause of the decrease in reflectance can be specified by performing the following processing.

  2A to 2C are process flowcharts for specifying the cause of the decrease in reflectance. In the apparatus setup process shown in FIG. 2A, a new disk corresponding to the reference disk in the present invention is inserted into the apparatus (S101), and the following process is performed. That is, the disk is rotated (S102), the laser light source is caused to emit light (S103), and the reflectance detected at this time is stored as the reference reflectance Ri in the nonvolatile memory 127 in the apparatus (S104, S105). Therefore, in this example, the nonvolatile memory 127 corresponds to the reference reflected light amount storage means in the present invention.

  In the normal processing shown in FIG. 2B, when a used disk is loaded (S201), the disk is rotated (S202), the laser light source is emitted (S203), and the reflectance Ra detected at this time is temporarily stored. (S204, S205). As a memory for that purpose, a volatile memory may be used.

  In the reflectance decrease cause determination process shown in FIG. 2C, the reflectance Ra detected for the used disk is compared with the reference reflectance Ri stored in the nonvolatile memory 127 (S301), and Ra is almost equal to Ri. If it is determined that they are equal, the normal processing is continued assuming that there is no deterioration of the laser light source, no contamination of the lens, and no contamination of the surface of the disk used (S302), while Ra is predetermined for Ri. If the ratio is smaller than the above ratio, a notification for urging the user to mount a reference disk, for example, a new disk is sent (S303). That is, in this example, S301 corresponds to the first comparing means in the present invention, and S303 corresponds to the first notifying means in the present invention. When the reference disk is loaded (YES in S304), the reflectance Ri2 is detected (S305). Next, the reflectance Ri2 of the reference disk mounted again is compared with the reference reflectance Ri stored in the nonvolatile memory (S306), and if it is determined that Ri2 is substantially equal to Ri, Ra It is determined that the cause of the decrease is due to contamination of the used disk, and a notification to that effect is sent (S307). This is because it is possible to determine that there is no abnormality in the optical system because the detected reflectances from the same reference disk are substantially equal. If Ri2 is smaller than the ratio set with respect to Ri, it is determined that it is caused by the optical system, such as deterioration of the laser light source or lens contamination (S308). This is because it can be determined that there is an abnormality in the optical system because the detected reflectance from the same reference disk is lowered. In this example, S306 corresponds to the second comparison means in the present invention, S307 corresponds to the second notification means in the present invention, and S308 corresponds to the third notification means in the present invention. . The notifications by the first notification means, the second notification means, and the third notification means are displayed on a display (not shown) arranged in an appropriate part of the apparatus, notified by voice, or a combination thereof. To do. As the reference disc, a new disc may be used as described above, but it may be a special disc prepared and provided to the user together with this optical disc apparatus.

  3 to 6 show a configuration example of a magneto-optical disk device 100A which is an example of an optical disk device to which the second aspect of the present invention is applied, and an optical disk library system 200 in which a plurality of the optical disk devices 100A are integrated. ing. As shown in FIG. 3, the library system 200 incorporates 10 blade-like optical disk devices (hereinafter referred to as blade devices) 100A.

  The casing 130 of the blade device 100A has, for example, a length that is more than three times the diameter of the disk D, a width that is slightly larger than the diameter of the disk D (height in the drawing), and a thickness that is significantly smaller than the diameter of the disk D ( In the figure, a magazine 131 (medium storage unit) in which a plurality of disks are stored is detachably disposed at one end of the housing 130.

  The plurality of blade devices 100A described above are detachably mounted on the housing 210 of the library system 200. The magazine 131 of each blade device 100A is inserted into the housing 210 of the library system 200. It is also detachable even in the state where The housing 210 of the library system 200 is also provided with a control device 220 (oversight unit) that supervises storage and reproduction of information in each of the plurality of blade devices 100A. In such a library system 200, a plurality of blade devices 100A are compactly housed in a housing, and a large-capacity external storage device is obtained. The capacity can be easily expanded by increasing the number of disks D and blade devices 100A in the magazine 131, and maintenance can be easily performed by attaching and detaching and replacing the magazine 131 and blade devices 100A.

  FIG. 4 shows the structure of each blade device 100A. The blade device 100A includes a magazine 131 (medium storage unit) that stores a plurality of disks D, and a drive 140 (recording / reproducing unit) that records / reproduces information to / from the disks D selected from the magazine 131. And a changer 150 (medium moving unit) that moves the disk D between the magazine 131 and the drive 140. At one end of the blade device 100A opposite to the magazine 131, an interface connector 161 for transferring data between the blade device 100A and the outside is also provided. When the blade device 100A is mounted on the casing 210 of the library system 200, the connector 161 is connected to a connector on the library system 200 side. The changer 150 has a function of inserting and removing the disk D from the magazine 131, a function of moving the disk D in the vertical direction, and a function of loading and unloading the disk D from the drive 140.

  FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of each blade device 100A. As described above, the blade device 100A includes the magazine 131, the changer 150, and the drive 140. Further, the control unit 124 that controls the changer 150 and the drive 140, and data transfer between the blade device 100A and the outside are performed. And an interface 160 to carry.

  The drive 140 includes a spindle motor 101 that holds and rotates the disk D, and optical heads 111A and 111B that record and / or reproduce information by irradiating the disk D with a light beam. Two heads 111A and 111B are provided for the first surface and the second surface of the disk D, respectively. The drive 140 includes read / write channels 125A and 125B for the first and second surfaces, and various memories such as a first-in / first-out (FIFO) memory 170 and a nonvolatile memory (FRAM) 127 that function as buffers. Is also provided.

  The control unit 124 controls the entire blade device 100A while referring to a command or the like from outside the device through a path (not shown) via the interface 160. For example, the control of the changer 150 for selecting the disk D including the sector having the designated logical address and mounting it on the drive 140, and the change of the changer 150 for replacing the disk D to be mounted on the drive 140. Control of the apparatus, setup of the apparatus, control of recording / reproduction with respect to the disk D mounted on the drive 140, and the like. The setup control and the reproduction control include control for detecting the reflectance of the disk D and storing it in an appropriate memory, as described above for the first aspect of the present invention.

  In the library system 200, as shown schematically in FIG. 6, the plurality of blade devices 100A described above are mounted, and data input that can be switched at high speed by an electrical switch is performed via the interface 160 of each blade device 100A. It is connected to the output device 230. Switching of the data input / output device 230 is controlled by the control device 220 (overall unit) also shown in FIG. The control device 220 is connected to a host interface that performs data input / output with a host system such as a server, and includes a buffer memory 240 for synchronizing data input / output with the host system. Yes.

  In the blade device 100A, the reflectance of the disk D is used, for example, to adjust the emission intensity of the laser light source so that the detected reflectance does not decrease. However, for example, dirt adheres to the surface of the objective lens, and as the degree of the contamination increases, the adjustment of the light emission intensity of the laser light source does not catch up, and the detected reflectance is eventually lowered. The same applies when the laser light source is deteriorated. Similarly, when the entire surface of the recording surface of the disk D is contaminated and the degree of the contamination increases, the detected reflectance decreases in the same manner. In the library system 200 in which a plurality of blade apparatuses 100A each having a plurality of disks D are integrated as described above, data is distributedly recorded on a plurality of disks D or distributedly recorded on a plurality of blade apparatuses 100A. In order to continue operating the library system 200 without causing the system to go down, it is quickly identified whether the decrease in reflectivity is caused by the optical system or the contamination of the disc, and measures are taken accordingly. Is extremely important.

  In the optical disc apparatus 100A in which a plurality of discs D are mounted, the degree of contamination of each disc D varies depending on the frequency of selection of the disc D, that is, the difference in the number of recording / reproducing operations. As for the disk D with a low selection frequency, it is assumed that the contamination does not progress so much.

  On the premise of the above, in the optical disc apparatus mounted with a plurality of discs D such as the blade apparatus 100A exemplified above according to the second aspect of the present invention, the reflectance is reduced by performing the following processing. Configured to identify the cause.

  7A to 7C are process flowcharts for specifying the cause of the decrease in reflectance. In the apparatus setup process shown in FIG. 7A, an arbitrary disk is selected from a plurality of disks (S401), and the following process is performed. That is, the disk is rotated (S402), the laser light source is caused to emit light (S403), and the reflectance detected at this time is stored in the nonvolatile memory 127 (reference reflected light amount storage means) in the apparatus as the reference reflectance Ri. (S404, S405).

  In the normal process shown in FIG. 7B, at any time after setup, any disk (first selected disk) is selected (S501), the first selected disk is rotated (S502), and the laser light source is emitted. The reflectance Ra detected at this time is temporarily stored (S504, S505). As a memory for that purpose, a volatile memory may be used.

  In the reflectance reduction cause determination process shown in FIG. 7C, the reflectance Ra detected for the first selected disk is compared with the reference reflectance Ri stored in the nonvolatile memory (S601), and Ra is If it is determined that it is substantially equal to Ri, normal processing is continued assuming that there is no deterioration of the laser light source, no contamination of the lens, and no contamination of the surface of the first selection disk (S602), while Ra is If it is smaller than the predetermined ratio with respect to Ri, another disk (second selected disk) is selected (S603), and the reflectance Ra2 for the second selected disk is detected (S604). Next, the reflectance Ra2 of the second selected disk is compared with the reference reflectance Ri stored in the non-volatile memory 127 (S605), and when it is determined that Ra2 is substantially equal to Ri, Ra is It is determined that the cause of the decrease is due to the contamination of the first selected disk, and the fact is notified (S606). Such a result can only occur when the second selected disk is as good as a new disk, such as the disk at the time of setup, and therefore it can be determined that the decrease in Ra is due to contamination of the first selected disk. is there. In addition, when Ra2 is smaller than the predetermined ratio with respect to Ri, there is a problem in the optical system, and the reflectance of the second selected disk is reduced due to contamination as in the first selected disk. Therefore, the process of selecting another disk as a new second selected disk and comparing the reflectance Ra2 with the above Ri is repeated a plurality of times (NO in S608). ). As a result, when Ra2 is smaller than Ri by a predetermined ratio or less with respect to all newly selected second selected disks (YES in S608), the decrease in Ra is caused by deterioration of the laser light source or lens contamination. The probability that there is a problem in the optical system is extremely high, so that the fact is notified (S609). If the disk for which the medium cause notification in S606 has been performed is not the last disk (NO in S607), the process jumps to another disk selection step (S603). If Ra2 for any second selected disk is substantially equal to Ri (S605), there is no problem in the optical system, and Ra2 is less than a predetermined ratio with respect to Ri including the first selected disk. It is notified that the second selected disk that has become small is contaminated (S606). For example, the notification in each case is displayed on a display (not shown) disposed in an appropriate part of the apparatus or notified by voice, as well as notification to the control device 220 of the library system 200 or the library system. Notifications to 200 higher systems are also included. In each blade device 100A, one of the plurality of disks D mounted on the magazine 131 is normally designated as a disk that is not recorded / reproduced, so that it is almost new at any point in time. Since the disk is held in the apparatus, the specific accuracy of the cause of Ra reduction in the above-described processing is further increased.

  Note that the processing shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B may be performed as processing for specifying the cause of the decrease in reflectance of the disk D in the blade device 100A included in the library system 200 described above.

  In the setup process of the apparatus shown in FIG. 8A, an arbitrary disk is selected from a plurality of disks (S701), this disk is rotated (S702), a laser light source is emitted (S703), and this time is detected. The reflected reflectance is stored in the nonvolatile memory in the apparatus as the reference reflectance Ri (S704, S705).

  In the reflectance reduction cause determination process shown in FIG. 8B, all the disks are sequentially selected to detect the respective reflectance Ra (S801), and are compared with the reference reflectance Ri (S802). When Ra of all the disks is substantially equal to Ri, it is determined that there is no abnormality related to a decrease in reflectance, and normal processing is continued (S803). On the other hand, if Ra of any disk is smaller than the predetermined ratio with respect to Ri in S802 (NO in S802), the process proceeds to S804, and the reflectance Ra of all disks is smaller than the predetermined ratio with respect to Ri. It is determined whether or not. In the case of YES in this step, it is known that there is an abnormality in the reflectivity drop caused by the optical system, so that notification is given (S805). In the case of NO in S804, since it is found that a medium abnormal disk related to a decrease in reflectivity and a normal disk are mixed, a notification to that effect is given (S804). Even in this case, by specifying one of the plurality of discs as a disc that is not normally recorded / reproduced, the specific accuracy of the cause of Ra reduction in the above-described processing is further increased.

  Accordingly, the optical system can be identified for a plurality of blade devices (optical disk devices) 100A included in the library system 200 because the optical system is dirty or deteriorated, or the number of the optical disks 100A is considerably increased. All the data in the optical disc apparatus 100A in which the contamination or deterioration of the system is found is transferred to another optical disc apparatus 100A, or the data of the disc D in which the dirt is found is transferred to another disc D. This enables safe continuous operation of the optical disc library system 200 as a huge external storage device of a large-scale computer system.

  Of course, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and all modifications within the scope of the matters described in each claim are included in the scope of the present invention.

The scope of the present invention supported by the specification and drawings of the present application, including the matters described in each claim, is described below.
(Appendix 1)
An optical disc apparatus for recording and / or reproducing information on an optical disc while irradiating a recording surface of the disc with a light beam,
The amount of reflected light from the reference disk is stored as a reference reflected light amount, and the amount of reflected light from the used disk is compared with the above-mentioned reference reflected light amount. In some cases, prompt the installation of the reference disk,
Compare the amount of reflected light from the reattached reference disk with the above-mentioned reference reflected light amount. If the amount of reflected light from the reference disk is almost equal to the above-mentioned reference reflected light amount, it is determined that the used disk is contaminated. An optical disc apparatus characterized in that when the amount of reflected light from the reference disk is smaller than the reference reflected light amount by a predetermined amount or more, it is determined that the light amount of the light beam has decreased.
(Appendix 2)
An optical disc apparatus for recording and / or reproducing information on an optical disc while irradiating a recording surface of the disc with a light beam,
A reflected light amount detecting means for detecting the reflected light amount from the disc;
Reference reflected light amount storage means for storing the reflected light amount detected by the reflected light amount detection means from the reference disk;
First comparison means for comparing the amount of reflected light detected by the reflected light amount detection means from a used disk other than the reference disk with the reference reflected light amount stored in the reference reflected light amount storage means;
A first notifying means for urging the user to mount the reference disk when the first comparison means determines that the reflected light amount from the used disk is smaller than the reference reflected light amount by a predetermined amount or more;
Second comparison means for comparing the reflected light quantity detected again by the reflected light quantity detection means from the reference disk mounted after the notification by the first notification means and the reference reflected light quantity stored in the storage means; ,
A second notifying unit for notifying that the used disk is contaminated when the second comparing means determines that the reflected light quantity again is substantially equal to the reference reflected light quantity;
Third notification means for notifying that the light amount of the light beam is reduced when the second comparison means determines that the reflected light amount is smaller than the reference reflected light amount by a predetermined amount or more. When,
An optical disc apparatus comprising:
(Appendix 3)
An optical disc apparatus that records and / or reproduces information on the optical disc while irradiating a light beam onto a recording surface of a selected one of a plurality of discs mounted,
A disc selected from among a plurality of discs mounted at the time of setup is used as a reference disc, the amount of light reflected from this reference disc is stored as a reference amount of reflected light, and the first disc selected from the plurality of discs mounted at any time is selected. When the reflected light amount from the selected disk is compared with the reference reflected light amount, and the reflected light amount from the first selected disk is smaller than the reference reflected light amount by a predetermined amount or more, the other one or more second selected disks And when the reflected light amount from any of the second selected disks is substantially equal to the reference reflected light amount, it is determined that the first selected disk is contaminated. When the amount of reflected light from the second selected disk is smaller than the reference reflected light amount by a predetermined amount or more, the light amount of the light beam is reduced. And wherein the determining, the optical disk apparatus.
(Appendix 4)
An optical disc apparatus that records and / or reproduces information on the optical disc while irradiating a light beam onto a recording surface of a selected one of a plurality of discs mounted,
A reflected light amount detecting means for detecting the reflected light amount from the disc;
A reference reflected light amount storage means for storing the reflected light amount detected by the reflected light amount detection means from a selected disk among the plurality of mounted disks at the time of setup;
First comparing means for comparing the amount of reflected light from a first selected disk selected from the plurality of discs mounted at an arbitrary time with a reference amount of reflected light stored in the storage means;
When the first comparison unit determines that the amount of reflected light from the first selected disk is smaller than the reference reflected light amount by a predetermined amount or more, the reflected light amount detecting unit from one or more second selected disks. Second comparison means for comparing the reflected light amount detected by the reference reflected light amount stored in the storage means;
When the second comparing means determines that the reflected light amount from any of the second selected disks is substantially equal to the reference reflected light amount, the first comparing unit notifies that the first selected disk is contaminated. Notification means;
When the second comparison means determines that the amount of reflected light from the second selected disk is smaller than the reference reflected light amount by a predetermined amount or more, it notifies that the light amount of the light beam has decreased. A second notification means;
An optical disc apparatus comprising:
(Appendix 5)
The optical disk apparatus according to appendix 2 or 4, wherein the reflected light amount detection means uses an output of a tracking error signal.
(Appendix 6)
The optical disk apparatus according to appendix 2 or 4, wherein the reflected light amount detection means uses an output of a focus error signal.
(Appendix 7)
A plurality of disks are mounted on a medium storage unit that includes a blade casing and is detachably mounted on one end of the blade casing.
A recording / reproducing unit for recording and / or reproducing information with respect to the disk is disposed in the blade casing at a distance from the medium storage unit,
The optical disc apparatus according to appendix 3 or 4, wherein a selected one of the plurality of discs is moved between the medium storage unit and the recording / reproducing unit by a medium moving unit.
(Appendix 8)
A system housing in which a plurality of optical disk devices according to appendix 7 are detachably mounted;
An optical disc library system comprising: a central unit that supervises recording and / or reproduction of information in each of a plurality of optical disc apparatuses mounted in the system casing.

It is the schematic which shows the structural example of the optical disk apparatus which concerns on the 1st side surface of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control processing example of the optical disk apparatus which concerns on the 1st side surface of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control processing example of the optical disk apparatus which concerns on the 1st side surface of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control processing example of the optical disk apparatus which concerns on the 1st side surface of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structural example of the optical disk device and optical disk library system which concern on the 2nd side surface of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the structure of the optical disk apparatus shown by FIG. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the optical disc device shown in FIG. 3. It is a block diagram of an optical disk library system. It is a flowchart which shows the control processing example of the optical disk apparatus which concerns on the 2nd side surface of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control processing example of the optical disk apparatus which concerns on the 2nd side surface of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control processing example of the optical disk apparatus which concerns on the 2nd side surface of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the other example of control processing of the optical disk apparatus which concerns on the 2nd side surface of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the other example of control processing of the optical disk apparatus which concerns on the 2nd side surface of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

100 Optical Disk Device 100A Optical Disk Device (Blade Device)
101 Spindle motor 110 Optical head 112 Objective lens 124 Control unit 127 Non-volatile memory (FRAM)
130 Case 131 Magazine 140 Drive 150 Changer 200 Library System 210 Case 220 Control Unit (Overall Unit)
D disc

Claims (5)

An optical disc apparatus for recording and / or reproducing information on an optical disc while irradiating a recording surface of the disc with a light beam,
The amount of reflected light from the reference disk is stored as a reference reflected light amount, and the amount of reflected light from the used disk is compared with the above-mentioned reference reflected light amount. In some cases, prompt the installation of the reference disk,
Compare the amount of reflected light from the reattached reference disk with the above-mentioned reference reflected light amount. If the amount of reflected light from the reference disk is almost equal to the above-mentioned reference reflected light amount, it is determined that the used disk is contaminated. An optical disc apparatus characterized in that when the amount of reflected light from the reference disk is smaller than the reference reflected light amount by a predetermined amount or more, it is determined that the light amount of the light beam has decreased. An optical disc apparatus for recording and / or reproducing information on an optical disc while irradiating a recording surface of the disc with a light beam,
A reflected light amount detecting means for detecting the reflected light amount from the disc;
Reference reflected light amount storage means for storing the reflected light amount detected by the reflected light amount detection means from the reference disk;
First comparison means for comparing the amount of reflected light detected by the reflected light amount detection means from a used disk other than the reference disk with the reference reflected light amount stored in the reference reflected light amount storage means;
A first notifying means for urging the user to mount the reference disk when the first comparison means determines that the reflected light amount from the used disk is smaller than the reference reflected light amount by a predetermined amount or more;
Second comparison means for comparing the reflected light quantity detected again by the reflected light quantity detection means from the reference disk mounted after the notification by the first notification means and the reference reflected light quantity stored in the storage means; ,
A second notifying unit for notifying that the used disk is contaminated when the second comparing means determines that the reflected light quantity again is substantially equal to the reference reflected light quantity;
Third notification means for notifying that the light amount of the light beam is reduced when the second comparison means determines that the reflected light amount is smaller than the reference reflected light amount by a predetermined amount or more. When,
An optical disc apparatus comprising: An optical disc apparatus that records and / or reproduces information on the optical disc while irradiating a light beam onto a recording surface of a selected one of a plurality of discs mounted,
A disc selected from among a plurality of discs mounted at the time of setup is used as a reference disc, the amount of light reflected from this reference disc is stored as a reference amount of reflected light, and the first disc selected from the plurality of discs mounted at any time is selected. When the reflected light amount from the selected disk is compared with the reference reflected light amount, and the reflected light amount from the first selected disk is smaller than the reference reflected light amount by a predetermined amount or more, the other one or more second selected disks And when the reflected light amount from any of the second selected disks is substantially equal to the reference reflected light amount, it is determined that the first selected disk is contaminated. When the amount of reflected light from the second selected disk is smaller than the reference reflected light amount by a predetermined amount or more, the light amount of the light beam is reduced. And wherein the determining, the optical disk apparatus. A plurality of disks are mounted on a medium storage unit that includes a blade casing and is detachably mounted on one end of the blade casing.
A recording / reproducing unit that records and / or reproduces information with respect to the disk is disposed in the blade casing at a distance from the medium storage unit,
The optical disc apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a selected one of the plurality of discs is moved between the medium storage unit and the recording / reproducing unit by a medium moving unit. A system housing in which a plurality of optical disk devices according to claim 4 are detachably mounted;
An optical disc library system, comprising: a central unit that supervises recording and / or reproduction of information in each of a plurality of optical disc devices mounted in the system casing.

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