JP2005108380A - Data storage system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data storage system equipped with a transportation system independent of a kind of media. <P>SOLUTION: This storage system is furnished with a cartridge alignment section capable of aligning a plurality of cartridges with the recording media housed therein, and a plurality of recording/reproducing devices capable of recording or reproducing the information to or from the recording media in a cartridge case, and a transportation mechanism is prepared for taking out the cartridges from the cartridge alignment section to transport them to the recording/reproducing devices, and the system is constituted so that, in the recording/reproducing device, an optical disk recording/reproducing device or a magnetic tape recording/reproducing device can be used, and in the cartridge, an optical disk cartridge capable of housing a plurality of optical disks or a magnetic tape cartridge can be used. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a data storage system, and more particularly to a configuration of a data storage system in which different types of recording / reproducing apparatuses are mixed.

In recent years, with the spread of broadband, a large amount of data such as video information has been transmitted and received via the Internet, and it is necessary to store a large amount of information on the server side accordingly. Therefore, the capacity of hard disks is rapidly increasing, and inexpensive and large capacity backup tools represented by computer tapes such as DLT ^TM and LTO ^TM have rapidly spread to back up the information stored in the hard disks. ing.

  Since the capacity per volume of these computer tapes is 100 GB to 200 GB even with the latest one, in order to back up all the information, for example, European Patent No. 1291860 and European Patent No. 129186 disclose a plurality of computer tapes. A system for managing and storing data using an autochanger is disclosed.

  Further, as an information backup tool, a system using an optical disk in addition to a computer tape can be used. As these optical discs, a library system using a 5.25 type magneto-optical disc, DVD-RAM, or the like conforming to the ISO standard has been commercialized.

  These computer tapes and optical discs have various shapes and recording / reproducing methods depending on the standards, and the conveyance system for automatically supplying media used in recording / reproducing apparatuses and library systems also uses It is necessary to design according to the shape, and in constructing a system that can handle a plurality of recording media, the equipment becomes large-scale and the cost increases.

European Patent No. 1291860 European Patent No. 1291861

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and provides a data storage system including a transport system that does not depend on the type of medium.

  Another problem of the present invention is that the magnetic tape recording / reproducing apparatus and the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus are mixed in one data storage system, and a different type of recording / reproducing is erroneously performed in the data storage system in which the magnetic tape cartridge and the optical disk cartridge can be mixed. An object of the present invention is to provide a data storage system that prevents a cartridge from being inserted into an apparatus and reduces the risk of system operation interruption.

  According to an aspect of the present invention, the apparatus includes a plurality of cartridge alignment units capable of aligning a plurality of cartridges containing recording media therein and a plurality of recording / reproducing devices capable of recording or reproducing information on the recording medium in the cartridge case, A transport mechanism for taking out the cartridge from the cartridge aligning section and transporting it to the recording / reproducing apparatus; the recording / reproducing apparatus is a mixture of an optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus and a magnetic tape recording / reproducing apparatus; and the cartridge can store a plurality of optical disks It is possible to mix various optical disk cartridges or magnetic tape cartridges.

  The optical disk cartridge of the present invention can be handled in the same manner by a magnetic tape cartridge transport mechanism that is widely used in the world, so that the transport mechanism of the data storage system using the magnetic tape cartridge can be used as it is. Therefore, the cost increase of the data storage system can be suppressed.

  Further, according to the aspect of the present invention, since optical disk cartridges and magnetic tape cartridges are mixed in one data storage system, it is necessary to strictly identify them. The transport mechanism for transporting the cartridge from the cartridge alignment unit to the recording / reproducing apparatus includes a cartridge holding unit capable of gripping both the magnetic tape cartridge and the optical disc cartridge, and identifying whether the cartridge is a magnetic tape cartridge or an optical disc cartridge It comprises a detection unit capable of detection and a transfer means for moving the cartridge.

  Further, the position of the magnetic tape cartridge recording / reproducing apparatus and the mounting position information of the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus are collated with the identification information of the cartridge. However, when a contradiction is detected in the cartridge identification, the erroneous insertion is surely prevented before being conveyed to the recording / reproducing apparatus by being configured not to be erroneously inserted into the drive device.

  According to the disk-shaped recording medium of the present invention, it is possible to share a conveyance system for the magnetic tape cartridge and the optical disk cartridge, and an inexpensive system can be provided.

  In addition, a plurality of identification means for magnetic tape cartridges and optical disk cartridges are provided, and when the identification means detects a contradiction in the cartridge identification, it is configured so that it is not erroneously inserted into the drive device, so that it can be surely transferred before being conveyed to the recording / reproducing apparatus Thus, it is possible to prevent erroneous insertion, prevent interruption of the system, and provide a highly reliable system.

  Hereinafter, examples according to the present invention will be described, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the data storage system of the present invention can store a plurality of recording / reproducing apparatuses and a plurality of cartridges in the system body.

  The recording / reproducing apparatus is positioned and fixed, and transmits a signal for recognizing the type of the recording / reproducing apparatus to the controller.

The disk cartridge is stored in a magazine, and the magazine is set on the inner wall surface of the system main body.
The magazine can store several magnetic disk cartridges or optical disk cartridges.

  As for the cartridge size, the optical disk cartridge was 105 mm wide × 102 mm deep × 22 mm high, and the magnetic tape cartridge was 105 mm wide × 102 mm deep × 22 mm high. It is possible to make the width common because of the need to share the transport mechanism, and by changing the width and shape of the part that grips the cartridge, when the transport mechanism grips the cartridge, it is a magnetic tape cartridge or optical disk cartridge It is also possible to identify these.

The transport mechanism first scans where the cartridges are aligned and what the cartridges are, and stores cartridge identification information and cartridge address information.
Thereafter, the operation enters a standby state, and the operation of conveying the cartridge to the recording / reproducing apparatus or returning the cartridge ejected from the recording / reproducing apparatus to the original alignment position is repeated as necessary.

  1 and 3 show an optical disk cartridge of the present invention. The optical disk cartridge mainly includes an upper half, a lower half, a shutter, a light protector, an optical disk alone, an optical disk tray, and a tray holding lever. Five sets of one optical disk and one tray are used. Here, the optical disk is a rewritable type having an outer diameter of 86 mm and a thickness of 1.2 to 2 mm, and a magneto-optical recording film is laminated thereon. Instead of the magneto-optical recording film, a phase-change recording film may be used.

The upper and lower halves are preferably injection molded products of polycarbonate or ABS resin which are excellent in dimensional accuracy, dimensional stability and appearance.
The upper and lower halves are joined by tapping screws or ultrasonic welding.
In this example, the bonding was performed using a tapping screw.

  The cartridge case is formed of a half having an upper half, and a rotary shutter is attached to the front. When not in use, the shutter is biased to a closed position by a spring and is held by a lock.

  The shutter includes a face plate portion that covers the front surface of the cartridge case and a side surface portion that faces the left and right side walls and has a rotation shaft. A spring mounting portion that biases the shutter to a closed position is formed on one side surface portion. In addition, a shutter lock is attached to the side surface of one side so that the shutter cannot be opened carelessly.

  The cartridge case is provided with a notch on the lower surface on the rear side so that the conveyance mechanism on the system main body side and the loading mechanism on the recording / reproducing apparatus side can be gripped and conveyed. By changing the notch shape or position between the magnetic tape cartridge and the optical disk cartridge, it can be used for cartridge identification.

  A light protector operation hole is provided on the rear surface of the cartridge, and a light protector detection hole is provided on the lower surface. By providing a write protector on the magnetic tape cartridge and not providing the write protector at the same position of the optical disc cartridge, it is possible to identify whether the magnetic tape cartridge or the optical disc cartridge.

Four protrusions and four recesses are formed on the upper surface and the lower surface of the cartridge case, respectively, so that the protrusions fit into the recesses when stacked.
In this way, the protrusions fit into the recesses to prevent collapse when stacked and accumulated. By making the position of the protrusion and recess asymmetrical in the front-rear direction, it is possible to tip over if not aligned in the same direction. By aligning in the same direction, wrong insertion when supplying and aligning the cartridge to the system body It is also possible to have a preventive effect.

FIG. 4 shows the inside of the cartridge case of the present invention. Inside the cartridge case, guide grooves are formed on the left and right sides at a distance from the outer peripheral wall. The guide groove portion has a protrusion formed inward from a wall portion rising from the lower half inner surface to near the upper half inner surface, and a groove between the protrusions is used as a guide. A fastening portion by a tapping screw is provided between the guide groove portion and the outer peripheral wall.
By providing the fastening portion outside the guide groove portion, the tray shape to be drawn out can be designed to have a uniform width, so that the structure can be simplified.

In this embodiment, a part of the guide groove is cut out, and a screw boss for fastening the upper and lower cases penetrates the cut out part.
Thus, by passing the screw boss through the portion where the guide groove is cut, it is possible to increase the outer diameter of the disk and increase the recording capacity per cartridge.

  FIG. 5 shows an enlarged view of the tapping screw portion. Two designated surfaces with zero draft angle are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the screw boss for fastening the right front tapping screw. The tray receives a rotational moment by a spring that biases the tray lock within the cartridge case. The reaction force of this rotational moment is received on two surfaces with a draft of zero, and the tray is stably held. The drawer member that pulls out the tray of the recording / reproducing apparatus secures the positional accuracy of the tray drawer portion because the position of the tray is stable, and can reliably pull out the tray individually to the recording / reproducing apparatus without causing a take-out error. . By providing a surface with zero draft on the outer peripheral surface of the screw boss, it is possible to configure a positioning climate at a low cost without increasing the number of members. Further, the surface having no draft angle is only a part when viewed from the entire screw boss, and positioning accuracy can be improved without increasing the mold release resistance during molding.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the outer peripheral surface of the screw boss for fastening the left front tapping screw is fitted with a tray lock for holding the tray at the position where the tray is inserted, and is urged in the direction of arrow A in the drawing by a spring. Has been.

When pulling out the lock, it rotates in the direction B, the lock is released, and the tray comes out. The cutout of the tray is cut out so as not to interfere with the rotation locus of the lock so as not to interfere with the tray that is not pulled out when the lock rotates in the B direction.
When the tray is inserted, it is similarly pushed by the chamfered portion of the tray and rotated in the B direction to be locked and held at the lock position.

  In this embodiment, since the tray is cut out so as not to interfere with the rotation locus of the lock as described above, the structure is simplified as a structure in which the lock is urged in the rotation direction by one torsion coil spring.

  A load groove is provided on the outer surface of the cartridge case facing the base of the guide groove provided on the inner side of the outer wall of the cartridge case, and serves as a guide when inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus. By aligning the position with the guide groove base, it can be expected to prevent sink marks during injection molding and prevent the guide groove from collapsing.

  The tray is made of, for example, polyacetal or an injection molded product of polycarbonate added with fluorine, silicon, wax or the like or ABS resin.

  When the optical disk cartridge is installed in the recording / reproducing apparatus, the shutter is automatically opened. A fitting recess for drawing into the recording / reproducing apparatus is exposed by opening the shutter in front of the left side of the tray. The tray is slidably disposed in a guide groove formed inside the cartridge case main body, and can be taken out individually.

FIG. 6 shows the tray of the present invention. A reference hole for positioning and a positioning hole are formed at the rear of the tray.
One RFID is mounted on each tray, and the management information of the optical disc and the recording history of the recording / reproducing apparatus are recorded and held.

On the rear left side of the tray, a locking recess that engages with a lock lever that holds the tray is formed.
For the lock, for example, a molded product that is injection-molded with a material having excellent slidability such as polyacetal is used.

On the lower front side of the tray, a head passage portion thinner than the entire thickness is formed in a substantially fan shape.
When the tray is pulled into the recording / reproducing apparatus, the rotating spindle hub holds the disc in accordance with the height of the tray, and the receiving surface and the positioning pins hold the tray at a slightly lower position. The head approaches the disk with a rotary actuator from the retracted position, and performs recording and reproduction.
At this time, information can be written to the RFID attached to the tray.

  When recording / reproduction is completed on one disk, the head is retracted, the spindle hub, the positioning pin, and the receiving surface are lowered, and waits until the next tray is pulled out.

  When recording / reproduction with respect to the optical disk cartridge is completed and the cartridge case is replaced, all trays are accommodated in the cartridge case and discharged from the recording / reproducing apparatus, and are aligned at the original position of the magazine by the transport mechanism of the system body.

  The data storage system of the present invention is a system in which a magnetic tape recording / reproducing apparatus and an optical disk reproducing apparatus are mixed and a magnetic tape cartridge and an optical disk cartridge can be mixed, and components such as a transport system can be shared.

  Random accessibility and writing / reading of large-capacity data can both be achieved by selecting the optimum recording medium for data retention and writing the data.

It is a figure of the optical disk cartridge in this invention. It is a figure of the data storage system in this invention. It is a figure which shows the parts of the optical disk cartridge in this invention. It is a figure which shows the lower half of the optical disk cartridge in this invention. It is a figure which shows the enlarged view of the tapping screw part in this invention. It is a figure which shows the tray in this invention.

Claims (4)

  A plurality of cartridge alignment units capable of aligning a plurality of cartridges containing recording media therein and a plurality of recording / reproducing devices capable of recording or reproducing information on the recording medium in the cartridge case, and removing the cartridges from the cartridge alignment unit In the data storage system having a transport mechanism for transporting to the recording / reproducing apparatus, the recording / reproducing apparatus is a mixture of an optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus and a magnetic tape recording / reproducing apparatus, and the cartridge is an optical disk cartridge capable of storing a plurality of optical disks. Or a data storage system characterized in that magnetic tape cartridges can be mixed.   The transport mechanism for transporting the cartridge from the cartridge alignment unit to the recording / reproducing apparatus includes a cartridge holding unit capable of gripping both the magnetic tape cartridge and the optical disc cartridge, and identifying whether the cartridge is a magnetic tape cartridge or an optical disc cartridge 2. The data storage system according to claim 1, comprising a detection unit capable of detection and a transfer means for moving the cartridge.   Further, the magnetic tape cartridge and the optical disk cartridge are provided in the cartridge aligning section or the cartridge holding section with means for checking the position of the magnetic tape cartridge recording / reproducing apparatus and the mounting position information of the optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus with the identification information of the cartridge to prevent erroneous insertion. 3. A data storage system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of identification means are provided, and when the identification means detects a contradiction in cartridge identification, erroneous insertion is prevented from being erroneously inserted into the drive device. . The discriminating means for the magnetic tape cartridge and the optical disk cartridge includes a mechanical or optical sensor provided in the cartridge alignment unit, a mechanical sensor provided in the cartridge holding unit, a contact or non-contact type memory provided in the cartridge holding unit, and a barcode. 4. The data storage system according to claim 3, wherein there are two or more detection means selected from a reader.

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