JP2574570Y2 - Cartridge locking device in recording medium cartridge housing - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cartridge engaging device for engaging a notch formed in a recording medium cartridge to hold the cartridge in a predetermined position in a recording medium cartridge housing. In particular, a recording medium cartridge in which engagement notches of different shapes are formed on the side surfaces of both end portions thereof can be locked by the same type of cartridge locking tool regardless of the storage direction of the cartridge. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An optical disk library device (hereinafter referred to as O) for storing and driving (reading or reading / writing) an optical disk cartridge (hereinafter also referred to as a cartridge).
LU), as shown in FIG.
A storage rack 1A for storing a plurality of cartridges C in each storage cell 2, a drive 4 for driving (reading or reading / writing) the cartridges C,
And the cartridge C is stored in a storage rack 1
A, a transfer device T including a transfer robot 5 for transferring between the drive 4 and the like.

On the other hand, a cartridge C handled by such an OLU generally has a plurality of engagement notches used when held or transferred by the OLU. FIG. 5 shows an example of such a cartridge C. In this example, a total of four engaging notches are formed on both side surfaces of both end portions, and engaging notches formed on the side surface on one end side (hereinafter referred to as front engaging notches for convenience). The engagement notch 6 (hereinafter, referred to as a rear engagement notch for convenience) 8 formed on the side surface on the other end side has a shape and a thickness of the cartridge C according to each purpose of use. The notch heights in the directions are different from each other. That is, in this example, the front engagement notch 6 is formed by cutting out only a half in the thickness direction of the cartridge C into a substantially quadrangular shape having a surface substantially perpendicular to the side surface of the cartridge C. It is a thing. On the other hand, the rear engagement notch 8 is cut into a triangular shape over the entire thickness.

When the cartridge C shown in FIG. 5 is stored in the storage rack 1A, the cartridge C is stored in the direction in which the front engagement notch 6 faces the transporting device T, that is, the rear engagement notch 8 is stored. It is inserted into the storage cell 2 in a direction coming to the back of the cell 2. Thereafter, the cartridge C is provided in each of the storage cells 2 in the rear engagement notch 8 and has a projection corresponding to the rear engagement notch 8. The stopper 9 is held at a predetermined position in the storage cell 2.

In order to increase the capacity of the OLU, the storage rack 1 provided on one side of the transport device T is used.
In addition to A, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4, there is a type in which a similar storage rack 1B is additionally provided on the other side of the transfer device T. In this extension type OLU, both storage racks 1A and 1B are connected so that the transport device T can access both storage racks 1A and 1B.
The cartridge entrances and exits of the storage cells 2 and 10 are provided so as to face each other. Further, when the cartridge C of the type shown in FIG. 5 is stored in the storage cell 10 of the additional storage rack 1B, the cartridge C is engaged with the rearward in a manner opposite to the case where the cartridge C is stored in the storage rack 1A. In the direction in which the notch 8 is on the side of the transport device T, that is, in the direction in which the front engagement notch 6 is
After that, it is held at a predetermined position in the storage cell 10 by the cartridge locking tool 11 having a projection corresponding to the front engagement notch 6.

[0006]

However, an additional type O which handles a cartridge C of a different notch height between the front engagement notch 6 and the rear engagement notch 8.
In the case of LU, the storage rack 1A and the storage rack 1B
As described above, the storage directions are different, and accordingly, the shapes of the engagement notches 6, 8 to be locked by the cartridge locking tools 9, 11 are different. For this reason, it is necessary to manufacture different types of cartridge locking tools 9 and 11 according to the shape. As a result, conventionally, the manufacturing cost of the OLU has been increased.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned point, and a recording medium cartridge having engagement notches having different notch heights formed at both ends thereof is the same regardless of the storage direction of the cartridge. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording medium cartridge locking member in a recording medium cartridge housing, which can be locked by various types.

[0008]

A recording medium cartridge locking device according to the present invention has a first engagement notch formed at a predetermined notch height on a side surface of one end portion, and a second end portion. A recording medium cartridge having a second engaging notch formed at a notch height different from that of the first engaging notch on the side surface of the recording medium cartridge so as to be able to be taken in and out freely. The first engagement notch or the second engagement notch is provided at each storage position of the storage body.
A cartridge locking tool for holding the cartridge at the respective storage position by locking the engagement notch of the cartridge, and elastically slidably contacting the side surface of the cartridge inserted into the storage position. The cartridges are separated from each other in the notch height direction of the cartridge so that they can act independently on the first engagement notch or the second engagement notch to be locked. A first locking portion and a second locking portion provided by the first locking portion or the first locking notch portion of the cartridge.
Both the first and second engaging portions are elastically engaged with the second engaging portion is resiliently engaged against the second engagement notch, thereby, the The cartridge can be held regardless of whether the cartridge is inserted into the storage position with the one end side leading or the cartridge is inserted into the storage position with the other end side leading. It is characterized by the following.

[0009]

A first engagement notch and a second engagement notch are formed on both side surfaces of the recording medium cartridge to which the present invention is applied, respectively. The height of the notch in the thickness direction of the cartridge (including the position of the notch in the thickness direction of the cartridge) is different from that of the second engagement notch. That is,
The recording medium cartridge has, for example, a notch height in which the first engagement notch has a notch height over the entire thickness of the cartridge, and the second engagement notch has a notch height which covers only the lower half of the thickness of the cartridge. (Here, for convenience, A
Or the first engaging notch has a notch height that extends only in the upper half of the thickness of the cartridge, and the second engaging notch extends only in the lower half of the thickness of the cartridge. It may have a notch height (herein, it is referred to as a B type cartridge for convenience).

The first locking portion and the second locking portion of the cartridge locking tool are provided so as to be elastically slidable on the side surface of the recording medium cartridge inserted into the corresponding storage position. Are provided separately from each other in the notch height direction of the cartridge, so that each of the first engagement notch portion or the second engagement notch portion of the cartridge to be locked is individually provided. Can work independently. In this way, the first engaging notch or the first engaging notch of the cartridge
1 and both the second engaging portion is resiliently engaged with the second engaging portion is adapted to resiliently engage against the second engaging notch. For example, in the case of an A-type cartridge, the two engaging portions are elastically engaged simultaneously with the first engaging notch of the cartridge, and the second engaging notch is Only the second locking portion elastically engages. In the case of a B-type recording medium cartridge, the first engagement notch of the cartridge is
It said first locking portion is resiliently engaged against the second engaging notch, the second locking portion is adapted to resiliently engage.

In this manner, the first notch is provided for each of the engagement notches.
And the second locking portions act independently of each other, so that the cartridge is inserted into the storage position with the one end side leading, or the cartridge is inserted with the other end side leading It is not necessary to provide different types of cartridge locks at each storage position depending on whether or not the cartridges are inserted into the storage positions. It is only necessary to provide them at positions. For this reason, only the same type of cartridge locking tool needs to be manufactured, so that the manufacturing cost of the cartridge locking tool can be minimized.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a cartridge locking device according to an embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is carried out in an additional type OLU storage rack as shown in FIG. 1 and 2 have the same functions as those in FIG. 4.

In FIG. 2, the OLU is a main storage rack 1 provided on both sides of the transport device T in order to increase the capacity.
A and an additional storage rack 1B, and a drive 4 for driving the cartridge C. The transfer robot 5 of the transfer device T transfers the cartridge C between the storage racks 1A, 1B, the drive, and the like. It has become. By holding both sides of the cartridge C, the transfer robot 5 moves the pair of operating arms 5a that operate to insert and remove the cartridge C to and from the transfer robot 5 on each of the main storage rack 1A side and the additional storage rack 1B side. (Only one actuation arm 5a is shown on each side). The storage racks 1A and 1B are arranged such that the cartridge entrances 2a and 10a of the storage cells 2 and 10 face each other so that they can be accessed by the same transfer robot 5.

The cartridge C handled by the OLU is formed with a front engagement notch 6 formed on one side and a side formed on the other end, as shown in FIG. The front engagement notch 6 and the rear engagement notch 8 have the respective shapes and
The cartridges C are different types in the notch depth in the thickness direction of the cartridge C. That is, half of the front engagement notch 6 in the thickness direction of the cartridge C is
It is formed by being cut out into a substantially quarter-circle shape having a surface substantially perpendicular to the side surface of the cartridge C. The remaining half in the thickness direction at the location where the front engagement notch 6 is formed is not cut. On the other hand, the rear engagement notch 8 is cut in a triangular shape over the entire thickness of the cartridge C.

Returning to FIG. 1, the cartridge lock 14
Is integrally formed of a material such as an elastically deformable leaf spring, and engages with the front engagement notch 6 or the rear engagement notch 8 of the cartridge C, whereby the cartridge C is At a predetermined position in the storage cell 2 or 10,
It is elastically held so that it can be taken in and out. More specifically, the cartridge locking member 14 is commonly used for the storage cells 2 and 10 of the storage racks 1A and 1B. In the drawing, for simplification, only the configuration in which the cartridge locking member 14 is attached to the storage cell 2 of the main storage rack 1A is shown, but the mounting direction of the cartridge locking member 14 is reversed. Except for the above, the configuration is the same for the additional storage rack 1B.

At one end (ie, the end on the side of the cartridge entrance 2a, 10a) of the cartridge locking member 14, for example, a screw is provided on both side walls forming each of the storage cells 2, 10 or on a deep portion of one of the side walls. 13 attached. The cartridge lock 14
Is preferably attached to both side walls of each of the storage cells 2 and 10, but may be attached to only one of the side walls.

The other end of the cartridge locking member 14 has upper legs separated from each other in the notch height direction of the cartridge C by a central slit 14a extending in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge locking member 14. The upper leg 15 and the lower leg 1 have a bifurcated shape consisting of a lower portion 15 and a lower leg 16.
6 can be elastically deformed independently of each other. Further, locking projections 15a, 16a curved in the same direction are formed at the distal ends of the legs 15, 16 so as to be able to engage with the front engagement notch 6 and the rear engagement notch 8, respectively. Have been. In this embodiment, the locking projections 15a,
16a both protrude in the shape of a semicircle of the same radius. However, by engaging the front engagement notch 6 and the rear engagement notch 8 of the cartridge C inserted into the storage cells 2 and 10, the cartridge C is elastically moved to a predetermined position in the storage cells 2 and 10. The protrusions 15a, 16a may have any shape and size as long as they can be securely held. The cartridge locking member 14 is attached to the side walls of the storage cells 2 and 10 with the locking protrusions 15a and 16a protruding inward from the storage cells 2 and 10.
The locking projections 15a and 16a are elastically slidable on the side surfaces of the cartridge C inserted into the storage cells 2 and 10, and the upper leg 15 and the lower leg 16 are By being separated from each other in the notch height direction of C, it is possible to act on the front engagement notch 6 or the rear engagement notch 8 independently of each other. That is, the locking projections 15a, 16a
Both of the rear engagement notches 8 can be unevenly engaged, but only one of the front engagement notches 6 (in this example, the locking projection 16a) can be unevenly engaged. It is. That is, the locking projection 16a of the lower leg 16 corresponds in position to the front engagement notch 6 of the cartridge C, and the locking projection 15a of the upper leg 15 On the side of the non-notch adjacent above the notch 6,
It corresponds to the position.

On the side walls of the storage cells 2 and 10, the engagement projections 15a and 16a are elastically slidably in contact with the side surfaces of the cartridge C, and when the cartridge C is pushed to the side of the storage cell 2, An opening (indicated by 2b in FIG. 1) is formed to allow the leg 15 and the lower leg 16 locking projections 15a, 16a to elastically deform laterally outward.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. For example, when the cartridge C transferred by the transfer robot 5 of the transfer device T is stored in the storage cell 2 of the main storage rack 1A from the transfer robot 5,
In this OLU, the cartridge C is inserted from the transfer robot 5 in a direction in which the rear end of the rear engagement notch 8 is located at the front in the insertion direction. The cartridge locking member 14 attached to the side wall of the storage cell 2 has a locking protrusion 1
5a and 16a, the cartridge C inserted
By sliding against the side surface of the rear end portion, the storage cell 2 is elastically deformed outward and laterally (FIG. 3A).
Next, when the cartridge C is further inserted,
When the rear engagement notch 8 comes to the position of the locking projections 15a and 16a, both of the locking projections 15a and 16a are moved rearward by the elastic return force (spring force) of the cartridge locking tool 14. Into the engagement notch 8 and the rear engagement notch 8
Resiliently engages.

In this manner, the cartridge C is held at a predetermined position in the storage cell 2 by the cartridge locking member 14 so as to be freely taken in and out. When the cartridge C thus held is to be taken out from the storage cell 2 to the transfer robot 5, the operation arm 5 of the transfer robot 5 is used.
a pulls the cartridge C while locking the front engagement notch 6, the engagement between the locking projections 15 a, 16 a and the rear engagement notch 8 is released, and the cartridge C is stored in the storage cell 2. Will be drawn from.

For example, when the cartridge C transferred by the transfer robot 5 of the transfer device T is stored from the transfer robot 5 in the storage cell 10 of the additional storage rack 1B, in this OLU, the cartridge C The transfer robot 5 inserts the front engagement notch 6 on the front side in the insertion direction and the rear engagement notch 8 on the rear end of the transfer device T. The cartridge locking member 14 attached to the side wall of the storage cell 10 contacts the side surface of the front end of the inserted cartridge C at the locking protrusions 15a and 16a, and
Deforms toward the side outside of 0. Next, cartridge C
Is further inserted, so that the front engagement notch 6
As shown in FIG. 3B, only the locking projections 16a of the lower leg 16 correspond to each other due to the elastic return force of the cartridge locking tool 14 as shown in FIG. It enters into the front engagement notch 6 and engages with the front engagement notch 6. At this time, since the upper half of the cartridge C above the front engagement notch 6 is not cut out, the locking projection 15a of the upper leg 15 is moved outward by the non-cut side of the cartridge C. The elastically deformed state is maintained. Thus, the cartridge C
Is held at a predetermined position in the storage cell 10 of the additional storage rack 1B by the cartridge locking member 14 so as to be freely taken in and out.

When the cartridge C held in this manner is to be taken out of the storage cell 10 to the transfer robot 5, the same operation as in the case of taking out the cartridge C from the storage cell 2 of the main storage rack 1A is performed. Become.

As described above, in the cartridge locking device 14 according to this embodiment, the upper leg 15 and the lower leg 16 can be elastically deformed independently of each other. The locking projections 15a and 16a of the two legs 15 and 16 are simultaneously engaged with the rear engagement notch 8 formed over the entire thickness, while the projection 15a and 16a are formed over only a half of the thickness of the cartridge C in the thickness direction. Only one of the locking projections 16a, which corresponds in position to the engagement notch 6, is engaged with the front engagement notch 6. As a result, the cartridge locking member 14 is arranged in the storage direction of the cartridge C in each of the storage racks 1A and 1B, that is, the cartridge C is stored in the storage cell 2, 10
, Or the same type may be provided in each of the storage cells 2, 10, regardless of whether they are stored in the storage cells 2, 10 with the end on the side of the rear engagement notch 8 leading. It will be.

In the above embodiment, the whole of the cartridge locking member is constituted by a leaf spring. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the locking member can be elastically engaged with the engaging notch portion of the cartridge. Other configurations including a unit may be used.
Further, the present invention is not limited to the storage rack of the OLU, but may be applied to other storage medium cartridge housings that handle storage medium cartridges other than the optical disk cartridge.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, the first engagement notch portion of the cartridge to be locked is elastically slidable on the side surface of the cartridge inserted into the storage position. A first locking portion and a second locking portion provided separately from each other in a notch height direction of the cartridge so as to be able to act independently on the second engagement notches. It is provided. With such a configuration, the present invention is advantageous in that a recording medium cartridge having engagement notches of different shapes formed at both end portions can be locked by the same type regardless of the storage direction of the cartridge. It has the effect.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a cartridge lock according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is attached to a storage rack of an OLU.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the overall configuration of an OLU to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating a general example of a conventional OLU.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of an optical disk cartridge handled in a conventional OLU.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 ... storage cell 6 ... front engagement notch 8 ... rear engagement notch 14 ... cartridge locking tool 15 ... upper leg 16 ... lower leg 15a, 16b ... locking projection C ... cartridge

Claims (3)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A first engaging notch formed at a predetermined notch height on a side surface of one end portion and a notch different from the first engaging notch portion on a side surface of another end portion. In a recording medium cartridge storage body for storing a recording medium cartridge having a second engagement notch formed at a notch height so as to be able to be freely taken in and out, the storage medium cartridge is provided at each storage position of the storage body, and A cartridge locking tool for holding the cartridge at each storage position by locking the engagement notch or the second engagement notch, wherein the cartridge is inserted into the storage position. The cutting of the cartridge so that the cartridge can be elastically slidably in contact with the side surface and can act independently on the first engagement notch or the second engagement notch to be locked. Notch height direction And comprising a first locking portion and the second locking portion provided, before to the first engaging notch of the cartridge
Serial both the first locking portion or the first and second engaging portions <br/> resiliently engaged, said for the second engaging notch
The second locking portion elastically engages, so that the cartridge is inserted into the storage position with the one end side first, or the cartridge is inserted with the other end side first. A cartridge locking member in a recording medium cartridge housing, wherein the cartridge can be held regardless of whether the cartridge is inserted into a position. 2. The cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the first and second locking portions are elastically engaged with the first engagement notch portion of the cartridge at the same time. 2. The cartridge locking device according to claim 1, wherein only one locking portion is elastically engaged with the engagement notch. 3. The cartridge locking device according to claim 1, wherein the first locking portion and the second locking portion are formed by leaf springs.