JP2007059055A - Storage system of data carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase capacity of a storage system to increase access speed to a disk. <P>SOLUTION: The storage system has a reading/writing station (52), a holding/transfer device (42), a series of rotation support platters (22) mutually and vertically overlapped and the respective corresponding driving devices (60, 62) and the driving devices are comprised of a juke box which rotates the platters between a disk storage position and a disk access position by acting on the outer periphery of the support platters. The respective support platters (22) have slots, an opening path is made when all the support platters (22) reaches the slots at the storage position and the holding/transfer device (42) can move the slots in the vertical direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a storage system for data carriers (supports de donnees, recording media) that can automatically access each data carrier.

  The storage system of the present invention individually moves at least one storage device for storing each data carrier, a data carrier read / write station, and each data carrier from the storage device to the read / write station and vice versa. And a gripping / moving device. Each storage device has a series of rotatable support plates (hereinafter referred to as “support platters”), each support platter being stacked on top of each other, supported by a vertical column, and a drive acting on the outer periphery of each support platter A series of storage spaces for receiving a data carrier closed outwardly in a horizontal plane, each storage platter being rotated between the storage position and the access position in the device, and the storage space around the central column. And an opening arranged concentrically, and when each support platter comes to its storage position, all other openings are aligned vertically with each other to define an open passage. It has become.

  This storage system is used to store large amounts of data, especially CDs, in distributed management of disks where users and their workstations are geographically separated from the data storage and management center. That is, it is used in a disc or video library that automatically and randomly accelerators individual discs. These libraries must be able to quickly and remotely control a large number of remotely selected user or customer selected CDs from the storage space to one of the many devices in the read / write station.

One of the criteria for evaluating the quality of such a storage system is the speed of accessing the CD and the speed of moving the CD to the read / write station. This access speed becomes a problem as the storage capacity of the system increases.
The following document describes a jukebox consisting of a plurality of support platters that are stacked on top of each other and can be rotated individually.
IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin 37, No. 5, May 1994, New York, USA, pp. 155-158 “Disk Input / Output Terminal for Rotating Carousel”

Each support platter has a predetermined number of storage spaces and disk openings on concentric circles.
Each storage space on the platter has a vertically aligned cutout that extends radially outwardly on the support platter. A horizontal disc gripping arm can be inserted into the storage space and opening from the outside of the support platter when the storage space and opening of all the support platters are positioned one on top of the other, and this disc gripping arm vertically moves the jukebox Can be moved to.

In this document, the platter requires an opening that is open in the radial direction. Therefore, it is necessary to place the platter driving device at the center and move it in the vertical direction so that it can be engaged with each platter. But this is a loss of time. Further, the structure of the disk moving device also causes time loss. In fact, when the CD is set at a predetermined position, the platter cannot be rotated to a desired position unless the CD is lifted upward from the support platter. Similarly, when removing a CD, the support platter cannot be rotated to the correct position for removal from the vertical well unless the CD is first lifted by the moving device.
The following document proposes the storage system described in the above premise, in which the storage capacity and execution speed are much improved over the system described in the above document.
European Patent No. 0,722,168

  In the storage system described in this document, the storage space for storing the CD on the support platter is closed in the radial direction, and each platter can be driven at the outer periphery, and therefore an individual drive system can be used for each support platter. .

  However, the storage capacity of this storage system reaches its limit as the overall height increases. That is, since the access port is closed in the radial direction and the reader is above the storage system, the gripping and moving device must move vertically through the access port, so that the overall height of the platter is When it becomes higher, the access time to the disk (particularly the lowermost disk) becomes longer. In addition, the gripping / moving system generates vibrations when the total height becomes high.

  An object of the present invention is to increase the capacity of the storage system described in the above premise and increase the access speed to the disk.

  The subject of the present invention is a storage system having the features of claim 1. Other features and characteristics of the invention are set out in the dependent claims.

The storage system proposed by the present invention has all the advantages of Patent Document 1 (European Patent No. 0,722,168). Furthermore, the storage system of the present invention has the advantage that the speed of executing instructions is faster than that described in Patent Document 1, and the storage capacity is substantially unlimited in the height direction. That is, since the read / write station is located beside the storage device, it is necessary to move the data carrier gripping and moving device to the top of the device in order to load or remove the data carrier from the read / write station. There is no. Furthermore, in one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the read / write station consists of individual read / write stations stacked one above the other, and the gripping / moving device is the first read / write station where the insertion bay is empty. A writing station can be selected.
Furthermore, when the storage system is highly extended, a plurality of gripping / moving devices can be distributed over the entire height of the device, thereby further improving the execution speed.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the following embodiment, a CD storage system will be described in detail, but the present invention can be applied to other data carriers.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a jukebox (disk magazine, magasin a disques) 20 of the present invention. The jukebox is a stack of a predetermined number of circular support platters 22 (in the illustrated embodiment, 32 plates are stacked one above the other). There is a round opening 24 in the center of the platter 22 (see FIGS. 6A, 6B). Each of the stacked platters 22 is supported by a central column (column) 26 that extends through the opening 24 in the axial direction.

  Each platter 22 has a slot (notch) 28. Each slot 28 has a circular fond, and the width of each slot 28 is larger than the diameter of the CD. The slot 28 opens in an arc shape at the outer peripheral edge of the platter 22. All the platters 22 can be rotated individually around the center column 26. Each platter 22 is assigned a storage position (position de garage) in its rotational direction. When each platter 22 is in its storage position, all other slots 28 are axially aligned so that a radially open passage 30 extending through the entire height of the jukebox is formed. When a single platter is rotated away from its storage position as shown in FIG. 1, the gripping device (described in detail below) can access the surface of the platter through the passage 30.

  [FIG. 1] and [FIG. 6] As can be seen from FIGS. 6A and 6B, each platter 22 has a predetermined number (6 in the illustrated example) of CDs in addition to the central opening 24 and the slot 28. It has a circular storage space 32 for loading and storing. These storage spaces 32 and the circular end walls of the slots are annularly arranged around the central opening 24 so that each storage space 32 sequentially traverses the passage 30 as the platter 22 rotates. When each platter 22 is fully rotated, individual platters 22 and their respective storage spaces 32 and the CDs therein are freely accessible. As can be seen from FIG. 1 to FIG. 6, the storage space 32 is divided into two groups (four spaces 32 and two spaces 32). The reason for this arrangement will be described in detail later.

The dimensions of the platter 22, the number of storage spaces 32 on each platter 22, and the number of overlapping platters 32 can be adjusted to meet the requirements of each user. When each of the 32 platters has 6 storage spaces 32, the jukebox shown in FIG. 1 has a capacity of 192 CDs. Larger platters having six or more storage spaces 32 can also be provided.
The individual platters can be made of synthetic materials or metals, preferably aluminum.

  The platter has a cross-sectional shape of a flat plate for dinner as in Patent Document 1 (European Patent No. 0,722,168), and is attached to the central column 26 in exactly the same manner as in the above patent. Therefore, the shape of the platter and the method of attaching it to the column 26 will not be described in detail herein. Refer to the specification of this patent document 1, especially [FIG. 3] when detailed explanation is required.

  FIG. 2 shows a storage device 34 having a jukebox 20 housed in a casing 36. The casing 36 has a lateral opening that allows access to the passage 30. The jukebox 20 is combined with a pair of drive systems 38 and 40 for driving the platter. The drive systems 38, 40 extend over the entire height of the jukebox 20. This drive system will be described in detail later.

As can be seen from FIG. 3, a high-capacity storage tower can be formed by stacking a plurality of storage devices 34 of FIG. FIG. 3 shows the gripping / moving device 42. The gripping / moving device 42 slides along a vertical rail 44 extending over the entire height of the tower as shown in the detailed view of FIG. This vertical movement itself can be performed by any known means such as a worm screw, a belt, a cable or the like. A plurality of gripping / moving devices that slide along the rail 44 according to the height of the tower can be provided.
Each gripping / moving device 42 has a rotating gripping arm 48. At the end of this arm 48 is a pneumatic suction cup or other device that can grip and move a CD. Since the gripping arm 48 rotates, the slot 28 of the platter 22 that defines the passage 30 does not extend radially to the platter 22 but extends along an arc corresponding to the rotation radius of the suction cup 46. Yes.

  Reference numeral 50 in FIG. 3 conceptually shows a CD read / write station. This read / write station 50 can be configured in the form of a tower with a plurality of general read / write stations 52 (sometimes a slight improvement) stacked on top of each other and facing the rail 44. it can. A reading station means a station that includes one or both of a reader and a writer, or a device capable of both reading and writing. As shown in FIG. 4, each device has a retractable bay 54 that can accommodate a CD. The center of the accommodation area when the bay 54 is opened is within the operating radius of the gripping arm 48 and the suction cup 46.

When a user wants to access a predetermined CD remotely, a remote command is issued. By this command, the support platter 22 supporting the predetermined CD is unlocked from the platter storage position (the slot 28 is aligned with the passage), and the platter 22 is changed according to the storage space 32 supporting the desired disk. It is rotated in either direction to position its storage space in the passage 30 along with the desired disk. During this time, the arm 48 rotates into the passage 30 at the position shown in FIG. 4, and at the same time, the gripping device 42 is automatically lowered. The gripping device 42 stops at a position closest to the desired disk, and the suction cup 46 is driven to lift the desired disk. The gripper 42 is then raised along the rail 44 to the first available read / write station 52. During this time, the support platter 22 that has supplied the disk returns to the storage position, and the passage 30 can pass freely. At the read / write station 52, the arm 48 rotates and the suction cup 46 places the disk in the open bay 54 of the read / write station. When returning the disk to the storage platter, the reverse operation is performed.
Various drives and movements are automatically controlled by a central computer. That is, all the movements are in harmony with each other.

Reference numeral 56 in FIG. 3 is a diagram conceptually showing a cassette having a disk to be set or a disk to be replaced with another disk in the storage device.
This setting or replacement can be done manually by the operator, who instructs the suction cup 46 to grip the disk 56 and place the disk 56 in the selected position of the device according to the above operation.
This operation can also be performed automatically using the tower cabinet 58 (FIG. 5) positioned facing the passage 30. A disk to be inserted into the storage device is stacked in the tower cabinet. The gripping device 42 can automatically search for a disk from within the cabinet 58 under the control of the operator.

  [FIG. 5] is a view of the storage device as viewed from above, and the moving / gripping device indicated by a solid line is in the process of gripping and lifting the disk from the platter 22 (or lowering it onto the platter 22). The rotation range of the gripping arm 48 is indicated by an arrow. The broken line indicates the position where the gripping arm 48 supplies the disk to the reader 52 and the position where the arm itself supplies the disk to the cabinet 58.

  Also shown in FIG. 5 are two drives 60 and 62 for driving the platter 22. The driving devices 60 and 62 are arranged in two groups over the entire height of the storage device and drive the individual platters 22. Since the support platters are thin and the vertical space between the platters is very narrow, as in Patent Document 1 (European Patent No. 0,722,168), a motor group that drives even-numbered support platters and odd-numbered support It is preferable to have two drive groups including a motor group that drives the platter.

  Similar to the storage device described in Patent Document 1, an annular gear 64 (see FIGS. 6A, 6B) made of magnetic soft iron is attached to the outer periphery of each support platter 22. The annular gear 64 rotates and locks the platter 22 in cooperation with the driving devices 60 and 62.

However, the annular gear 64 of the platter 22 of the present invention is always cut at the slot 28. This differs from known storage devices in which the annular gear extends all around the platter and there is no interruption in driving and locking. That is, each support platter 22 of the present invention cannot rotate any further once its slot 28 reaches the drive for the platter.
In order to solve this problem, the drive device is designed to rotate the support platter 22 in both directions in the present invention. In conclusion, each platter 22 has a dead space that is lost as a storage space (a space corresponding to the position when the slot is rotated at a position facing the driving device of the support platter). Cannot be rotated to an angular position that closes the passage. Therefore, the storage space 32 of each support platter 22 is divided into four storage space groups and two storage space groups, and the dead space is provided between these two groups.

  According to yet another conclusion, two types of support platters 22 are required. That is, a support platter for the drive device 60 and a support platter for the drive device 62 are required. Actually, the support platter shown in FIG. 6 (a) is driven by the drive device 60 on the left side of FIG. 5 and the support platter shown in FIG. 6 (b) is driven by the drive device 62. The driving device 60 rotates the support platter 22 of FIG. 6A clockwise to move the group of the two storage spaces 32 to a position where the passage 30 is blocked. Conversely, in order to move the group of four storage spaces 32 to a position where the passage 30 is blocked, the support platter 22 is rotated in a triangulation direction (sens trigono metrique). When the driving device 62 drives the support platter shown in FIG. 6B, the opposite operation is performed.

  The driving device for the support platter 22 is the same as the platter driving device described in Patent Document 1. FIG. 7 shows an advantageous embodiment of the drive device for rotating the corresponding support platter around the column 26. In FIG. 7, the support platter is represented by an annular gear 64 on its outer periphery. The driving is performed by a known pseudo linear step motor. Four magnetic armatures 66 are fixed to the support rail 68 extending along the overlapping platters so as to face the annular gear 64. The two poles of each magnetic armature 66 are combined with two adjacent teeth of the annular gear 64 of each support platter. Each pole of the four magnetic armatures supports a winding 70, and a direct current is supplied to the winding 70 via a known electric circuit (not shown). By energizing each winding sequentially and periodically switching, each tooth of the annular gear 64 is attracted from one magnetic pole to another magnetic field by an alternating magnetic field and from one magnetic armature 66 to the next magnetic armature. Gravitate. As a result, the annular gear 64 rotates to form the rotor of the step motor. The disk is also accelerated and braked using this step motor.

  In order to accurately position each support platter 22 in one storage position or one of six access positions (in other words, in a position where the storage space closes the passage 30), each storage space 32 and each platter A lock position is assigned to the slot 28. For this purpose, a locking device is incorporated in the corresponding driving device, and each platter is locked.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the locking device comprises a soft iron lever 72. The lever 72 is rotatably attached to the support rail 68, and a dish-shaped head 74 having a shape opposite to the tooth shape of the annular gear 64 is attached to the free end of the lever 72. The lever 72 is incorporated in a magnetic armature 76 fixed to the support rail 68. Excitation windings 78 are attached to the two poles of the armature 76, and direct current is supplied to each winding through an electric circuit (not shown). A force of a compression spring 80 attached to the rail 68 is also applied to the lever 72. When the winding 78 is not excited, the lever 72 is pressed to the position shown in FIG. 7 (position where the spring 80 and the teeth engage), and the platter is locked. When the winding is excited, the lever 72 is pulled against the action of the spring and the platter becomes free.

It will be appreciated that the control of the excitation of the winding 78 is synchronized with the drive and that each time the platter is driven, the winding 78 is excited and the platter is automatically unlocked.
The platter drive / lock system is under the control of a sensor (not shown) that detects the angular position of the platter. This sensor is advantageously a sensor sensor that senses the passage of individual teeth of the annular gear 64 and the running condition.

The perspective view which shows the support platter which the CD storage apparatus mutually overlapped. The perspective view of the storage apparatus of this invention. The figure which piled up the apparatus of [FIG. 2] vertically. FIG. 3 is an upper detailed view of FIG. The figure which looked at the storage apparatus from the top. (a) is one figure of a pair of support platter, (b) is the other figure. Detailed view of a platter driving device.

Claims (9)

At least one storage device (34) for storing data carriers, a data carrier read / write station (50), a storage device (34) to a read / write station, and vice versa. Each holding device (34) has a series of rotatable support platters (22) stacked one above the other, and a series of support platters (22). Is supported by a vertical column (26) and can be individually rotated using a drive (60, 62) which causes each support platter to rotate between a storage position and an access position. Acting on the outer periphery of each support platter (22), each support platter (22) having a series of storage spaces (32) for receiving a closed data carrier in a horizontal plane and said central colla The passage (30) having the storage space (32) and an opening arranged concentrically around the opening, the openings of all the support platters (22) being aligned with each other in the vertical direction in the storage position And the opening of the support platter (22) is a slot (28) larger than the diameter of the data carrier opened on the outer periphery of the platter (22), and the drive devices (60, 62) of the support platter (22) are supported In a data carrier storage system with automatic access to each data carrier, designed to allow the platter to rotate in both directions,
A read / write station (50) and a gripping and moving device (42) are located near the passage (30) defined by the slot (28) of the support platter (22);
The read / write station (50) is a unit consisting of a plurality of individual read / write stations stacked one above the other in the vicinity of the gripping and moving device (42) and independent of the storage system,
Storage system characterized in that the gripping and moving device slides along an open passage (30) defined by the slot (28).   The gripping and moving device (42) has at least one pivoting arm (48), which has a gripping device (46) that grips the data carrier at its free end, which gripping device spans the entire height of the storage system. Storage system according to claim 1, slidable along an extended vertical rail (44).   Each platter (22) is combined with an individual drive (60, 62) as described above, and the drive is combined with two groups (60) combined with an even numbered support platter (22) and an odd numbered support platter (22). 2) The storage system according to claim 1, wherein the storage system is arranged separately.   4. A storage system according to claim 3, wherein each drive comprises a quasi-linear step motor and each support platter (22) has an annular gear (64) made of magnetic soft iron that forms the rotor of the step motor.   Storage system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each support platter (22) has six circular storage spaces (32).   Six storage spaces of each support platter (22) are divided into two groups of four storage spaces (32) and two storage spaces (32) arranged on both sides of the slot (28) of the support platter (22). Separately arranged, each support platter is rotated in a first direction when the group of four storage spaces (32) is moved from the storage position to the access position and consists of two storage spaces (32). 6. The storage system according to claim 5, wherein when the group is moved from the storage position to the access position, the group rotates in the opposite direction.   The storage system according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a locking device (22) for locking in a storage position and an access position. Each support platter (22) is combined with a locking device, and this locking device has a rotating lever, and the head (74) provided at the free end of the rotating lever has an annular gear ( 64. The storage system of claim 7, wherein the storage system engages with the teeth of 64) and disengages from the teeth by the action of an electromagnet (76).   Each storage device (34) is housed in a casing (36) that has a lateral opening that allows access to the passage (30), and a plurality of storage devices (34). The storage system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the storage systems are stacked one above the other.

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