JP2956511B2 - Automatic media exchange device and its magazine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic medium exchange apparatus capable of selectively exchanging a plurality of optical disk media in which a read-only medium such as a CD-ROM and a recordable / reproducible optical disk medium are mixed, and a medium therefor. The present invention relates to a magazine that is storage means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, optical disk media have attracted a great deal of attention as media for image processing, not to mention as external memories for computers due to the increase in capacity and the speed of data recording / reproducing. 2. Description of the Related Art An automatic medium changer (hereinafter, an autochanger) capable of managing and operating a large amount of data has been commercialized. In recent years, there has been a demand for a small-sized autochanger due to its installation space, and there has been proposed an autochanger in which a plurality of media placed on a tray are stored to improve storage efficiency and handleability.

A conventional magazine type autochanger will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 7 shows a conventional autochanger. 1 is a tray transporter for taking out a tray 8 on which a medium (not shown) in a magazine 2 is placed, moving the tray 8 in the direction of arrow a and transporting it to a drive 3. The belt 5 is guided by the guide shaft 4 and is driven by the drive motor 7 via the pulley 6.
It is driven by. As shown in FIG. 8, the tray 8 has a medium storage recess 9, a pickup 14 of the drive 3, an opening 10 into which the turntable 13 can enter, and a positioning hole 11 for positioning the drive 3. And a notch 12 for the tray transport unit 1 to take out / insert from the magazine 2. In addition, drive 3 mounted on the autochanger has
A turntable 13 that rotates with a medium mounted thereon, a pickup 14 that reads signals from the medium, and positioning pins 15 corresponding to the positioning holes 11 of the tray 8 are provided.

Next, the operation will be described. The tray transport unit 1 is driven by the drive motor 7 via the belt 5 in the directions of arrows a and b, moves to a position corresponding to the designated tray 8, and moves the tray 8 from the magazine 2 using the notch 12. Take out. Next, the tray transport section 1 containing the tray 8 moves in the direction of arrow b, and engages the positioning holes 11 of the tray 8 with the positioning pins 15 of the drive 3 to perform positioning of the tray 8 with respect to the drive 3. At this time, the turntable 13 and the pickup 14 of the drive 3 enter the opening 10, center the medium placed on the tray 8 on the turntable 13, and clamp the medium (not shown) formed in the tray transport unit 1. ) To fix to the turntable 13. Thereafter, the turntable 13 rotates and the pickup 14 reads out a signal.
In this state, the tray 8 is positioned in the drive 3, and
In addition, they are held in the tray transfer unit 1 in a height relationship that does not make contact with the medium.

The operation of returning the tray 8 after the reproduction is performed as follows. When the turntable 13 stops, the tray transport unit 1 is moved by the drive motor 7 in the direction of the arrow a to release the clamp of the medium on the turntable 13 and to place the medium on the tray 8 at a predetermined position in the magazine 2. It is transported and returned to the magazine 2 using the notch 12.

[0007]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, the tray has no means for detecting the type of the medium, and the mounted drive is only for reproduction or recording / reproduction. It can be used only for playback-only or recording / playback single media,
CD-RO that performs image processing, etc., which has attracted attention in recent years
There is a problem that it cannot cope with an autochanger that uses a read-only medium such as M and an optical disc medium capable of recording and reproduction in a mixed manner. In an autochanger of the type using one magazine, a recordable / reproducible optical disc medium is sensitive to fingerprints and scratches in handling. There was also a problem that it could not be used.

The present invention solves this problem and provides a CD-RO
An object of the present invention is to provide an autochanger and a magazine for the medium in which a read-only medium such as M and a recordable / reproducible optical disk medium can be mixed and used in one magazine.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, a recording / reproducing apparatus which can cope with both a read-only medium such as a CD-ROM and a recordable / reproducible medium is mounted. Equipped with a medium tray provided with a medium discriminating means for setting the type of the medium to be placed, at a position corresponding to the medium discriminating means provided in the apparatus, and individual locking means corresponding to the two kinds of medium trays The autochanger is made up of magazines. Further, the tray on which the recordable / reproducible medium is placed is provided with means capable of arbitrarily setting whether or not recording of the medium is possible, so that the user can easily set from the outside of the magazine in which the tray is stored. Things.

[0010]

According to this structure, it is possible to provide an auto-changer capable of selectively using a plurality of CD-ROMs or the like for reproduction and for selectively using a recordable / reproducible medium in one magazine. It is possible to realize an automatic changer system excellent in operability in which settings can be set without taking out a tray from a magazine.

[0011]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4,
This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 shows an autochanger according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 20 denotes a tray 27a, 27b on which a medium (not shown) in a magazine 21 is placed.
The extraction, with a tray conveyor unit for feeding transfer on the drive 22 to move in the direction of the arrow a, is guided by the guide shaft 23, via the pulley 25 by the drive motor 26 belt 2
4. The tray 27a shown in FIG. 2A is for a read-only medium, constitutes a medium storage recess 28, and has a pickup 34 of the drive 22, an opening 29 through which a turntable 33 can enter, and a drive 22 provided in the drive 22.
A positioning hole 30 for engaging with the positioning pin 35 for positioning, a sensor hole 39a for identifying a read-only medium set at a position corresponding to the SWa 37 provided in the drive 22, and a tray transport. Part 20 is Magazine 2
Notch 31 for removal / insertion from 1 and
A lock groove 32 for locking the tray to the magazine 21 is provided. FIG. 2B shows a tray for a recordable / reproducible medium , and FIGS. 3A and 3B are partially enlarged views thereof. Next, a tray for a recordable / reproducible medium will be described with reference to these drawings. The same parts of the tray for the read-only medium are given the same numbers, and the description thereof is omitted.

A sensor hole b39b is set in the tray 27b at a position corresponding to the SWb 38 for detecting whether or not recording / erasing of the drive 22 is possible, and a slider 40 is configured to cover the sensor hole b39b. The slider 40 is slidably guided by the guide groove 45 of the tray 27b, and the lock claw 41, which is usually formed integrally with the slider 40, fits into the concave portion a42 provided in the tray 27b, so that the sensor hole b3 is formed.
As a result, the recording / reproducing medium is in a state where recording / erasing is possible. When the user sets the recordable / reproducible medium placed on the tray 27b in a state where recording / erasing is impossible, the following operation may be performed.

Using the operation hole 44 of the slider 40, FIG.
The slider 40 is moved in the direction of arrow c of FIG.
Move to the position that agrees with 43. In this state, the sensor hole b39b is exposed on the surface, and the SW 22 of the drive 22 is
The detection becomes possible by b38, and it is possible to recognize that recording / erasing of this medium is impossible. Of course, it goes without saying that the relationship between the sensor hole b39b and the detection SWb 38 can be reversed from the state described here.

A drive 22 mounted on the autochanger shown in FIG. 1A is guided by a turntable 33 which rotates with a medium mounted thereon and a pickup guide 36, and is driven in a radial direction of the medium by a linear motor or the like. Pickup 3 that reads a signal from this medium
4 and positioning pins 35 corresponding to the positioning holes 30 of the trays 27a and 27b, a SWa 37 for detecting whether the medium is a read-only medium or a recording / reproducing medium, and a SWb 38 for detecting whether recording / erasing is possible in the case of a recording / reproducing medium. Is provided.

Next, this operation will be described. The tray transport unit 20 is driven by a drive motor 26 via the belt 24 in the directions of arrows a and b, moves to a position corresponding to the designated tray 27a, and places the tray 27a on which the medium is placed in the recess 28 for storing the medium. Notch 31 from magazine 21
To take out. Next, the tray transport section 20 containing the tray 27a moves in the direction of arrow b, and engages the positioning holes 30 of the tray 27a with the positioning pins 35 of the drive 22 to perform positioning with respect to the drive 22 of the tray 27a. At this time, the turntable 33 and the pickup 34 of the drive 22 enter the opening 29 and
The medium placed on a is centered on the turntable 33, and is fixed to the turntable 33 by a clamp unit (not shown) configured in the tray transport unit 20. Simultaneously with this operation, the SWa 37 detects the sensor hole 39a set in the tray 27a, recognizes that the medium placed on the drive 22 is a read-only medium such as a CD-ROM, and responds to the medium. The rotation (for example, CLV) and the switching of the circuit are performed, and thereafter, the signal is read out by the pickup 34. In this state, the tray 27a is positioned in the drive 22, and is held in the tray transfer section 20 in a height relationship so as not to contact the medium.

The operation of returning the tray 27a whose reproduction has been completed is performed as follows. When the turntable 33 stops, the tray transport unit 20 is moved by the drive motor 26 in the direction of the arrow a to release the clamp of the medium on the turntable 33, and the tray 27a on which the medium is placed in the medium storing recess 28 is moved to the magazine 21. Is transferred to the magazine 21 using the notch 31. The operation of the autochanger using the recordable / reproducible medium tray 27b is basically the same as that of the above-described read-only medium tray 27a, and only different points will be described below. When the sensor hole b39b of the tray 27b is covered by the slider 40, the tray 2
When 7b is transferred to the drive 22, it is determined by the SWb 38 that recording / erasing is possible, and normal recording / reproducing or erasing operation is performed. When the sensor hole b39b of the tray 27b is exposed on the surface,
When the tray 27b is transferred onto the drive 22, SWb
At 38, it is determined that recording / erasing is impossible. For example, the autochanger returns an error message to the host, and returns the tray 27b to the original magazine 21.
Here, the case where the drive is fixed has been described, but it goes without saying that the present invention is also applied to a case where a drive having an integrated tray transport unit moves to perform recording / reproduction.

FIG. 4 shows the tray 27a described here.
This shows an example of a magazine which can store the mixed magazines 27b.
A lock portion a47 and a lock are provided for each tray for fixing the trays 27a and 27b to the magazine 21 by engaging one end with the lock grooves 32 provided in the trays 27a and 27b described above. The tray is locked so that the respective trays cannot be taken out in a normal state, and the lock between the magazine and the tray is released by pressing the lock portions a47 and b48 from outside. Has become. Tray 2
The lock portion a47 corresponding to 7a has a large opening so that the user can easily press the medium from outside so that the medium can be easily exchanged. The lock portion b48 corresponds to the tray 27b for a recordable / reproducible medium,
It has a small opening so that the user cannot easily release the lock. In the state of being stored in the magazine 21, the tray 27 b is stored so that the slider 40 is aligned with the front surface. The user can easily set the recording / erasing of the medium by operating the slider 40 described above for each tray. It can be set to.

FIG. 5 shows a lock portion a47 and a lock portion b when the above-mentioned magazine 21 is mounted on an autochanger.
48 shows a release mechanism, and the magazine holder 53 of the autochanger includes a lock portion a of the magazine 21.
47, a release lever a4 at a position corresponding to the lock portion b48.
9, the release lever b50 is urged by a release spring a51 and a release spring b52, respectively. When the magazine 21 is inserted into the magazine holder 53 as shown by an arrow E, the release lever a49 is released from the release spring a5.
1. The urging force of the release spring b52 presses the lock portions a47 and b48, and the tray 27 with respect to the magazine 21 is pressed.
The locks of the trays a and 27b are released, and the tray can be taken out by the tray transport unit.

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of an autochanger using this magazine. Reference numeral 21 denotes a magazine in which the tray is stored, which is inserted into the magazine holder 53 and the tray is unlocked from the magazine. Reference numeral 61 denotes a drive, which has a loading mechanism 62 for holding a tray, placing a medium on the turntable 33, and clamping the medium. Two drives 61 are mounted.

Next, this operation will be described. As in the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. 1, the tray transport unit 60 that has taken out and stored the tray moves in the direction a and inserts the tray into the loading mechanism 62 of the specified drive 61. The loading mechanism 62 clamps the medium on the turntable 33, determines the type of the medium based on the SWa 37, and the drive 61 performs an operation suitable for each medium.
Whether or not recording / erasing is possible is detected by b38, and if it is, recording / reproducing or erasing operation is performed. If not, an error message is returned to the host, for example, and the tray is returned to the original magazine 46. In this type of autochanger, a medium can be selectively inserted into each drive.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, two types of media trays can be individually locked to a magazine in a single magazine, and particularly, a recording / reproducing medium requiring special care in handling. The tray has a configuration in which the user cannot easily release the lock, so that two types of media can be mounted in one magazine, and an autochanger adapted to the multimedia age can be provided. In particular, the configuration of the present invention is very effective for a small-sized autochanger in which only one magazine can be mounted. In addition, since the recording / reproducing medium tray is provided with arbitrarily configurable recording / erasing permission / non-permission setting means, it is necessary to perform complicated operations such as managing the recording / erasing permission / prohibition of the medium by software. Not only that, the method in which the tray is formed of a magazine has a very excellent feature that a user can operate the setting of recording / erasing of a medium from outside the magazine without taking out the tray. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a diagram showing a first embodiment of an autochanger according to the present invention. FIG. 1B is a plan view of a drive mounted on the first embodiment of the autochanger according to the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a plan view of a tray for a read-only medium according to the present invention, and FIG. 2B is a plan view of a tray for a recordable / reproducible medium according to the present invention.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are partially enlarged views of a tray for a recordable / reproducible medium.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of a magazine according to the invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a magazine unlocking mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the autochanger according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows a conventional example of an autochanger.

FIG. 8 shows a conventional example of a medium tray.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Tray transport part 2 Magazine 3 Drive 4 Guide shaft 5 Belt 7 Drive motor 8 Tray 13 Turntable 14 Pickup 20 Tray transport part 21 Magazine 22 Drive 26 Drive motor 27a Tray 27b Tray 33 Turntable 34 Pickup 37 SWa 38 SWb 39a Sensor hole a 39b sensor hole b 40 slider 41 lock claw 42 recess a 43 recess b 44 operation hole 45 guide groove 47 lock portion a 48 lock portion b 49 release lever a 50 release lever b 51 release spring a 52 release spring b 53 magazine holder 62 Tray loading mechanism

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A recording / reproducing apparatus capable of mounting and processing a read-only medium and a recordable / reproducible medium, and distinguishing between the read-only medium and the recordable / reproducible medium which can be mounted on the recording / reproducing apparatus. A first medium tray on which the read-only medium is placed and a second medium tray on which the recordable / reproducible medium is placed; and A magazine which can store a plurality of sheets of the first medium tray and the second medium tray in a mixed state and has locking means for locking each of the first medium tray and the second medium tray. And the first medium tray and the second medium of the magazine.
Release means for independently releasing the lock on the medium tray, and the first medium tray and the second medium tray housed in the magazine can be taken out or inserted,
An automatic medium exchange device, comprising: tray transfer means for transferring the first medium tray and the second medium tray to the recording / reproducing device. 2. A medium tray for a recordable / reproducible medium and a tray for a first medium for a read-only medium can be mixed and stored in plural numbers, and the first medium tray can be stored in a magazine.
The magazine and the first media tray for locking
And a magazine for locking the second medium tray to the magazine.
A second locking means configured between the second medium tray and the first medium releasing means;
Read only from the magazine to the first medium tray
Easy to exchange media and before releasing the second locking means
A record placed on the second medium tray from the magazine
Media autochanger magazine which is characterized in that a difference between the ease of replacement of the regeneration medium. 3. The automatic media exchange of the magazine according to claim 2.
By being inserted into a magazine holder provided in the device, a releasing means provided on the magazine holder for each of the locking means releases the first locking means and the second locking means. > The automatic medium exchange device according to claim 1, wherein the automatic removal is performed. 4. A medium automatic recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said means for judging said recordable / reproducible medium provided in said second medium tray comprises means for enabling / disabling recording on said recordable / reproducible medium. Exchange equipment.