JP2008117442A - Management system and management method of manufacturing process of magnetic tape cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a management system and a management method switching assembling steps smoothly according to types and sizes and the like of products to enhance manufacturing efficiency. <P>SOLUTION: The system and method for managing a manufacturing process of magnetic tape cartridges includes: a managing server controlling the manufacturing process and managing product information of the magnetic tape cartridge, a plurality of tape winders each winding a magnetic tape on a tape reel according to a prescribed specification and assembling devices each assembling the tape reel on which the magnetic tape is wound in a cartridge case, a product information recording means recording product information showing the specification of the product in a cartridge memory assembled in the magnetic tape cartridge after the tape is wound. The product information is read out from the cartridge memory and a control signal switching setting of the specification of the magnetic tape cartridge manufactured in the post-manufacturing step based on the product information is outputted by the managing server. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a management system and a management method for switching an assembly process according to the type and size of a product in a production process of a magnetic tape cartridge.

  In general, in the production process of a magnetic tape cartridge, as shown in FIG. 6, a tape winding process for winding a magnetic tape around a tape reel, an assembly process for loading a tape reel with a magnetic tape wound into a cartridge case, and an assembled magnetic tape A step of inspecting the tape cartridge and a step of accumulating the inspected magnetic tape cartridge are sequentially performed. The production process is usually managed by a management server that manages each process. The management server is input with a program indicating the procedure and progress of the production process, and controls the production process by outputting a control signal to a control terminal of a device that performs processing in each process based on the program. (For example, see the following patent document).

  In the management server, not only a program for executing a production process but also production history information (hereinafter referred to as tracer information) relating to an actually performed process, for example, which servo writer recorded a servo signal on a magnetic tape. Information to be stored is stored in the database. Then, after the magnetic tape cartridge product is manufactured, the data is stored so that the tracer information can be searched, extracted, and inquired from the database when the product tracer information is investigated.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-164252

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 7, in the conventional manufacturing process, after the winding is finished by a winding device called a plurality of winders, all the tape winding devices are simultaneously wound from the management server to the tape winding device. The product type and size are controlled to be switched. This is because it is necessary to switch the setting of the manufacturing apparatus according to the type and size of the product in a later process. However, usually, in the tape winding process, a large number of tape winding devices are operated at the same time. If even one unit has not finished winding the magnetic tape, the type and size of the product manufactured at that time There was room for improvement in that it was necessary to wait for all the tape take-up devices to finish, and it was a time loss.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a management system and a management method capable of smoothly switching the assembly process according to the type and size of the product and improving the production efficiency. There is to do.

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following configurations.
(1) A management system for managing the production process of a magnetic tape cartridge, the management server for controlling the production process and managing product information of the magnetic tape cartridge, and a magnetic tape on a tape reel according to a predetermined specification It has a plurality of tape winding devices to be wound and an assembly device to assemble a tape reel with a magnetic tape wound on a cartridge case. After winding the tape, product information indicating product specifications is recorded in a cartridge memory assembled to the magnetic tape cartridge. And a product information recording unit that reads the product information from the cartridge memory and switches the setting of the specifications of the magnetic tape cartridge manufactured in a later production process based on the product information.
(2) The management system according to (1), wherein the product information is at least one of a product type and a size.
(3) The management system according to (1) or (2), wherein production history information is recorded in the product information.
(4) A management method for managing a production process of a magnetic tape cartridge, wherein the production process is controlled, product information of the magnetic tape cartridge is managed by a management server, and a plurality of magnetic tapes according to a predetermined specification A process of winding on a tape reel by a winding device, a process of assembling a tape reel having a magnetic tape wound on a cartridge case, and a process of recording product information indicating product specifications in a cartridge memory mounted on a magnetic tape cartridge after winding the tape. And a method of reading product information from the cartridge memory and switching the setting of specifications of a magnetic tape cartridge manufactured in a later production process based on the product information.
(5) The management method according to (4), wherein the product information is at least one of a product type and a size.
(6) The management method according to (4) or (5), wherein production history information is recorded in the product information.

  In the present invention, product information indicating the specifications of the magnetic tape cartridge is recorded in a cartridge memory assembled to the tape cartridge at the time of production of the magnetic tape cartridge. Conventionally, only the production history information is recorded in the cartridge memory. However, according to the present invention, even during the production process based on the product information recorded in the cartridge memory, It is possible to appropriately switch the setting of the manufacturing apparatus according to the use of the product. For this reason, conventionally, the next assembling process could not be started until the winding process by all the winding devices was completed, but the magnetic tape that has been wound up by switching with reference to the product information. Since the assembling process can be started from this, it is not necessary to wait for the winding of the other winding device to be completed, and the manufacturing time can be shortened. In addition, according to the present invention, since the settings of each manufacturing apparatus can be adjusted by referring to the product information of the cartridge memory, each line for performing the manufacturing process can be mixed, and the type and size of the product can be changed. There is no need to change the production process design.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the switching of an assembly process can be performed smoothly according to the kind, size, etc. of a product, and the management system and management method which can improve production efficiency can be provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a magnetic tape cartridge produced as a product in the production process described in this embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the magnetic tape cartridge 1 is schematically a magnetic tape wound in a cartridge case made up of a cassette half 2 and an upper cassette half 3 that are molded from a resin such as plastic. The tape reel 4 is configured to be accommodated. The lower cassette half 2 and the upper cassette half 3 are provided with an opening for pulling out the magnetic tape at the time of magnetic recording / reproducing, and provided with a shutter 6 attached so that the opening can be opened and closed. The cassette case of the magnetic tape cartridge 1 contains a cartridge memory 8 in which product tracer information is recorded.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the cartridge memory. The cartridge memory 8 is a substantially rectangular member, in which an IC chip 8a is formed in a part thereof, and an antenna wiring part 8b is formed in other parts. The shape and configuration of the cartridge memory 8 are not particularly limited, and may be appropriately modified as long as it can record tracer information and product information described later.

  A production process for manufacturing a magnetic tape cartridge product mainly includes a servo write process, a winding process, an assembly process, an inspection process, and an integration process.

  In the servo write process, a servo signal writing device such as a servo writer performs a process of writing a servo signal on a magnetic tape that is an original magnetic tape called pancake. In the present embodiment, the servo signal writing device functions as product information recording means.

  In the tape winding process, the magnetic tape on which the servo signal is written in the servo writing process is wound using a tape winding device such as a winder on an empty tape reel previously held in the device. In the winding process, usually a plurality of tape winding apparatuses are used simultaneously.

  In the assembling process, the magnetic tape is taken out from the raw material on which the servo signal is written in the servo write process, and then set on a tape winding device, and wound on a tape reel in the winding process. After the winding is completed, the tape reel on which the assembled magnetic tape is wound is placed on the lower cassette half 2, the shutter 6 and the cartridge memory 8 are assembled, and the lower cassette half 2 and the upper cassette half 3 are fixed to each other with screws, Assemble the cartridge case.

  In the inspection process, data writing and reading tests are performed on the magnetic tape, and the presence or absence of recording characteristics is inspected. The inspected cartridge case is transported to a predetermined position and accumulated.

Next, a management system for managing the production process of the magnetic tape cartridge will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a system configuration of the management system of the present embodiment.
In the production process of the magnetic tape cartridge 1, the manufacturing apparatus installed for each process is connected to the management server 12 via a LAN (Local Area Network). Each manufacturing apparatus is provided with a control terminal, and when the control terminal receives a control signal from the management server 12, it is possible to control the drive start timing of each manufacturing apparatus.

  In the present embodiment, the management server 12 includes a tape winding device 22 for winding a magnetic tape, and an assembly device 32 for assembling the magnetic tape cartridge 1 by assembling a tape reel around which the magnetic tape is wound into a cartridge case. Each is connected via a LAN.

  A plurality of tape winding devices 22 are used, each having a cartridge memory recording device (hereinafter also referred to as a CM recording device) 24 for writing product information in the cartridge memory 8. The CM recording device 24 can write in a non-contact state by bringing it closer to the cartridge memory 8 based on the control signal of the management server 12. The CM recording device 24 may be provided separately from the tape winding device 22.

  The assembly device 32 is provided with a CM reading device 34 for reading product information written in the cartridge memory 8. The assembly device 32 outputs the product information read from the CM reading device 34 to the management server 12 before starting the assembly process, and refers to the data by the management server 12 so that the product specifications of the magnetic tape cartridge 1 can be obtained. The assembly process is performed by switching to the appropriate product type and size.

The product information includes, for example, at least one of the product type and size set based on the specifications of the magnetic tape cartridge.
Examples of product types include LTO UL3. Examples of the product size include a maximum storage capacity of 400 GB and 800 GB (gigabytes).

  Also, the tracer information indicating the production history can be recorded in the cartridge memory 8 as in the prior art.

Next, the management procedure of the production process of this embodiment will be described. In the management procedure described below, the magnetic tape cartridge shown in FIG. 1 and the management system shown in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the management procedure.
First, a servo write process is performed to record a servo signal on the magnetic tape. Then, the magnetic tape on which the servo signal is recorded is transported to the tape take-up device and set (step S1). The management server 12 instructs a plurality of tape winding devices 22 to start tape winding by a control signal (step S2).

  Of the tape winding device 22, the tape winding device that has finished winding the magnetic tape writes product information into the cartridge memory 8 by the CM recording device 24 (step S3).

FIG. 5 shows data recorded in the cartridge memory.
Each cartridge memory 8 is assigned a cartridge memory ID for identification. For each cartridge memory ID, data indicating the type of magnetic tape cartridge based on the product and data indicating the size based on the product are recorded. As the cartridge memory ID, for example, numbers and symbols such as “11111” and “11112”, or a combination thereof are used. As data indicating the type, for example, symbols such as “X”, “Y”, and “Z” are given. As data indicating the size, for example, symbols such as “A”, “B”, and “C” are given.
The cartridge memory ID is recorded with a device number formed by arranging numbers and symbols for identifying the tape winding device in which the product information is written.
Further, the cartridge memory 8 records a cartridge case ID for identifying the cartridge case assembled in the assembly process. For example, a number such as “071430” is attached as the cartridge case ID. Data indicating the inspection result of the magnetic tape cartridge 1 may be written in the cartridge memory 8 in the inspection process. As data indicating the inspection result of the magnetic tape cartridge 1, for example, “0” is recorded when the inspection result is normal, and “1” is recorded when an abnormality such as a defect is detected.

  The data table for each cartridge memory shown in FIG. 5 may be recorded in the management server. In this way, the user can refer to the information written in the cartridge memory 8 by referring to the data table of the management server 12 from each terminal of the production line after the production.

  As shown in FIG. 4, after the tape winding process, product information in the cartridge memory 8 is read in the assembly process (step S4). Based on the read product information, the assembling device 32 switches the assembling device according to the product type and size (step S5). And after performing an appropriate switching, an assembly process is performed (step S6). After the assembly process is completed, the magnetic tape cartridge 1 is transported to the inspection area of the production line, the inspection process is performed (step S7), and is collected at a predetermined location according to the inspection result.

  When the magnetic tape cartridge 1 is produced, product information indicating the specifications of the magnetic tape cartridge 1 is recorded in the cartridge memory 8 assembled to the tape cartridge. Conventionally, only the production history information is recorded in the cartridge memory 8, but according to the present invention, the product information is referred to during the production process based on the product information recorded in the cartridge memory 8. In the subsequent steps, it is possible to switch the setting of the manufacturing apparatus as appropriate according to the use of the product. For this reason, conventionally, the next assembly process could not be started until the winding process by all the tape winding devices 22 was completed, but the winding was completed by switching with reference to the product information. Since the assembly process can be started from the magnetic tape, it is not necessary to wait for the winding of the other winding device to be completed, and the manufacturing time can be shortened. In addition, according to the present invention, since the settings of each manufacturing apparatus can be adjusted by referring to the product information in the cartridge memory 8, each line for performing the manufacturing process can be mixed, and the type and size of the product can be changed. There is no need to change the design of the production process.

It is a figure explaining the structure of a magnetic tape cartridge. It is a figure which shows the structure of a cartridge memory. It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure of a management system. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the management method of a production process. It is a figure which shows an example of the data table of a cartridge memory. It is a flowchart which shows the production process of a magnetic tape cartridge. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure from a tape winding process to an assembly process in the conventional production process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Magnetic tape cartridge 8 Cartridge memory 12 Management server 22 Tape winding apparatus 32 Assembly apparatus

Claims (6)

A management system for managing the production process of magnetic tape cartridges,
A management server that controls the production process and manages product information of the magnetic tape cartridge;
A plurality of tape winding devices for winding a magnetic tape on a tape reel according to a predetermined specification;
An assembly device for assembling a tape reel around which a magnetic tape is wound into a cartridge case;
Product information recording means for recording product information indicating product specifications in a cartridge memory assembled to the magnetic tape cartridge after winding the tape;
A management system that reads the product information from the cartridge memory and switches the setting of specifications of a magnetic tape cartridge to be manufactured in a subsequent production process based on the product information.   The management system according to claim 1, wherein the product information is at least one of a product type and a size.   The management system according to claim 1, wherein production history information is recorded in the product information. A management method for managing the production process of a magnetic tape cartridge,
Control the production process, manage the product information of the magnetic tape cartridge by the management server,
Winding a magnetic tape around a tape reel with a plurality of tape winding devices according to a predetermined specification;
Assembling a tape reel with magnetic tape into the cartridge case;
A step of recording product information indicating product specifications in a cartridge memory assembled to the magnetic tape cartridge after the tape is wound;
A management method, wherein product information is read from the cartridge memory, and setting of a specification of a magnetic tape cartridge manufactured in a later production process is switched based on the product information.   The management method according to claim 4, wherein the product information is at least one of a product type and a size.   6. The management method according to claim 4, wherein production history information is recorded in the product information.

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