JP3139366B2 - Optical disk library device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a data storage device that handles a plurality of data storage media such as a floppy disk, an optical disk, and a CD-ROM.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An optical disk library device has a plurality of data recording / reproducing devices mounted thereon, but when one of the data recording / reproducing devices fails, it can be recovered without involvement of a host device. Did not. Therefore, in the case where the host device does not have a process for recovering from the failure, if at least one data recording / reproducing device mounted fails, the optical disk library device becomes unusable.

[0003] Conventionally, there has been a device in which a special controller is connected to a higher-level device, and this controller operates without making the upper-level device aware of the ID on the interface. In this apparatus, as described above, since the host apparatus is not aware of the ID of the data recording / reproducing apparatus, switching the data recording / reproducing apparatus to be used by the controller makes the optical disc library apparatus unusable due to the failure of the data recording / reproducing apparatus. Can be avoided. But such a device,
System connectivity was poor because a special interface was used for the upper interface. In addition, there is a problem that the price of the system is increased due to the necessity of adding a controller.

[0004]

When a failure occurs in a data recording / reproducing apparatus, the library control unit automatically switches the failed data recording / reproducing apparatus without involvement of a host apparatus, thereby making the apparatus unusable. Provided is an optical disk library device that can be used with a SCSI interface and that can reduce the influence of the operation time of the medium transport mechanism unit on the access time while making it less likely to become difficult.

[0005]

An optical disk library according to the present invention has a function of switching an ID on a SCSI interface with a host device of a data recording / reproducing apparatus mounted by a library control unit, and further has an ID on an SCSI interface. A plurality of data recording / reproducing devices having no ID are connected, and when a failure occurs in the data recording / reproducing device having an ID, the data recording / reproducing device in which the library control unit automatically fails without involvement of a higher-level device. SC
The function of giving the ID of the failed data recording / reproducing apparatus to the data recording / reproducing apparatus having no ID instead of eliminating the ID on the SI interface automatically switches the failed data recording / reproducing apparatus. I can do it.

When a command for transporting a medium to a data recording / reproducing apparatus having the same ID is continuously issued from a higher-level device, the first command is executed, and then the medium designated by the second command is transmitted to another device. After the data recording / reproducing apparatus which has not been used is transported to the data recording / reproducing apparatus which is not used, or after the transport command for the medium transported by the first command is issued to a medium other than the data recording / reproducing apparatus. By changing the ID of the data recording / reproducing apparatus that has conveyed the medium indicated by the second command to the ID specified by the higher-level apparatus by the library control unit, the second command execution time can be reduced.

With the above-mentioned means, it is possible to realize an optical disk library device which is hardly unusable even when a failure occurs in the data recording / reproducing device and which can be accessed at a high speed.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, an embodiment of an apparatus on which the present invention is mounted will be described. FIG. 1 is an internal schematic structural diagram of the optical disk library device. The optical disk library device includes a medium storage 1 for storing an optical disk cartridge 10, a data recording / reproducing device 2 for recording / reproducing data on / from an optical disk, and loading the optical disk cartridge 10 from the outside of the optical disk library device into the optical disk library device. A medium insertion / ejection mechanism 12 for ejecting the optical disk cartridge 10 from the inside of the apparatus to the outside of the optical disk library apparatus, and an optical disk cartridge 10 withdrawn from the medium storage 1, the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 or the medium insertion / ejection mechanism 12,
Holder (A) 3 and holder (B) 4, which can be transported to medium storage 1, data recording / reproducing device 2 or medium loading / unloading mechanism 12, their holders (A) 3, holder (B) 4, and host device Library control unit 1 that controls the I / F with the
6 and a power supply 11 for supplying power thereto.

Hereinafter, the medium storage 1, the data recording / reproducing device 2, the medium loading / discharging mechanism 12, the holders (A) 3, 3 and the holder (B) 4 are collectively called cells.

The medium storage 1, the data recording / reproducing device 2, and the medium loading / unloading mechanism 12 are arranged symmetrically in the vertical direction. This is for the purpose of optimizing the control of the holder (A) 3 and the holder (B), which will be described later, and for improving the workability of mounting and exchanging the data recording / reproducing device 2. Improving the workability of attaching and exchanging the data recording / reproducing device 2 means that the worker can work comfortably while standing.

Next, the mechanism of the holder will be described with reference to FIG.

The operation of the holder includes an operation of inserting or removing the optical disk cartridge 10 into or from the cell (hereinafter referred to as a feed operation), an operation of inverting the optical disk cartridge 10 in the holder, an operation of moving the optical disk cartridge 10 left and right, There is a movement to move.

The driving source for the feed operation is a feed motor 26. This driving force is applied to the lead screw 2 by a gear train.
3 and is converted by the lead screw 23 into a linear motion in the feed operation direction, and the medium holding mechanism 21 is operated. Inversion is also driven by the feed motor 26.

The driving source for the left-right movement operation is a left-right movement motor 27. This driving force is transmitted to the left / right moving synchro belt 25 by the gear train and the pulleys, converted into a linear movement in the left / right operation direction, and moved to the left / right.

The driving source for the vertical movement is an elevator motor 5
It is. The pulley is attached to the rotating shaft of the elevator motor and transmitted to the synchro belt 8, converted into linear motion in the vertical movement direction, and the holder is moved up and down. In the elevator system, in order to cancel the weight of the holder, a counterweight 14 (FIG. 1) having substantially the same weight as the holder is connected to the holder by a wire.

An encoder for detecting the number of rotations and the direction of rotation is attached to each of the motors described above, and the library control unit 16 controls each motor by detecting the signal.

Next, the schematic operation of the holder (A) 3 and the holder (B) 4 will be described.

There are two types of control methods for the holder (A) 3 and the holder (B) 4, as described below.

In the first method, only one of the holder (A) 3 and the holder (B) 4 is operated, and the other one is retracted outside the operating range of the operating holder. This is a method of operating in place of the operating holder when the operating holder meets the following conditions. The conditions are as follows: (1) When an abnormality is detected in the operating holder. (2) When the number of retries of the operating holder exceeds the set number. (3) When the number of times of operation of the operating holder exceeds the set number of times. It is.

The condition (3) aims at equalizing the number of operations of the operating holder and the retracted holder.

In the first method, when a normally operating holder becomes abnormal or is becoming abnormal, the holder is evacuated, the use is stopped, and the evacuated holder is stopped. By continuing the subsequent processing by using, the redundancy can be improved and high reliability can be secured.

In a second method, the holder (A) 3 and the upper half of the apparatus have one optical disk library apparatus, and the holder (B) 4 and the lower half of the apparatus have one pseudo optical disk library apparatus. This is a method for making the device recognize.

In the case of the second method in which the apparatus is normal and the above conditions are not satisfied, while the medium transport instruction is being executed from the upper apparatus in the holder (A) 3 and the upper half of the apparatus, the next received medium is received. The transfer command can be executed by the holder (B) 4 and the lower half of the apparatus, and the access time can be reduced to half of the first method at the maximum.

When one of the holders fails in the second method, the failed holder is evacuated, and all the cells above and below are accessed only by the normal holders, thereby preventing the apparatus from being down. (The execution speed is the same level as in the first method.) Next, the state of the holder retracted by the first method will be described. The holder (A) 3 is balanced by the counterweight 14 as described above, but the holder (A) 3 is lighter and the holder (B) 4 is set heavier than the counterweight 14. is there. Therefore, when vibration is applied to the apparatus while the holder is free, the holder (A) 3
Is pressed upward, which is the retracted position of the holder (A) 3, and the holder (B) 4 is pressed downward, which is the retracted position of the holder (B) 4. Thus, in the retracted state, the servo of the elevator motor 5 is turned off, and the elevator motor 5 is in a free state without using any fixing member.

Next, an embodiment of a dustproof structure and a cooling method of the library apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. FIG. 3, 4, 5, and 6 show the internal structure of the entire library device and the flow path of the cooling air.
FIG. 7 shows a dust-proof and cooling air flow path of the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2.

In the optical disk library device, there are a device power supply 11, a library control unit 16, and a data recording / reproducing device 2 as parts particularly requiring cooling. On the other hand, in the case of an optical disk which requires cooling, if dust adheres to the recording medium and the inside of the recording / reproducing apparatus 2, it may cause an error in recording / reproducing.
0) and a dust-proof structure that prevents outside contaminated air from entering the two locations so that dust does not adhere to the inside 47 of the data recording / reproducing apparatus. For this reason, in this embodiment, the cartridge storage 1 and the transport mechanism 4 are hermetically sealed by a partition plate 17 and an external cover, so that external dirty air does not enter.

FIG. 7 shows a method of dust prevention and cooling of the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 part. The data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 has an opening for a cartridge insertion port on the storage 1 side.
On the rear side, the lower side is a substrate 45 of the apparatus, the side and upper sides are a cover 46, and the rear side is an enclosure structure of parts of the apparatus. Each component is connected via a packing so that external dust does not enter the inside of the data recording / reproducing device 2 and the cartridge storage 2 side. Although it has a dustproof structure, the cooling air sufficiently hits the substrate 45 of the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 which needs to be cooled. Although there is no large heat generating portion inside the closed structure, the cooling air also flows around the data recording / reproducing device, so that the inside of the closed structure is also cooled via the cover 46.

Next, cooling inside the optical disk library apparatus will be described. Power supply unit 11 and cartridge storage 1
The data recording / reproducing device 2 and the control section 16 are separated by a partition plate 17. The library device is connected to the power supply 11 and the data.
The upper and lower surfaces of the portion where the data recording / reproducing device 2 is mounted are provided with holes for taking in external air. Also,
A hole for taking in external air is also provided immediately beside the recording / reproducing device 2.

First, a method of cooling the power supply unit 11 is shown in FIGS. The cooling fan of the power supply unit 11 is located above the power supply unit 11. The direction of the wind is the direction of discharging to the outside of the power supply. A hole is formed in the side surface of the power supply unit 11 so that the cooling air flows into the inside. As for the flow of the wind of the library device, the outside air is sucked in from the lower surface of the device by the fan of the power supply unit 11, flows around and inside the power supply, and is discharged from the upper hole. Since the power supply unit 11 has a narrow duct shape like a chimney, even a small fan can efficiently release heat to the upper part of the apparatus.

Next, cooling of the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 and the control section 16 will be described. FIGS. 3, 4, 6, and 7 show the above two cooling methods inside the library apparatus. The data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 is mounted substantially at the center of the library apparatus, and a control section is disposed above the library apparatus. The cooling fans 20 and 44 in this portion are mounted adjacent to the side and lower surfaces of the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2. This is because the allowable temperature of the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 is the lowest and the calorific value is the largest, so that a large amount of cooling air is required. Since the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 is mounted almost at the center of the library apparatus and the cooling fans 20 and 44 are adjacent to each other, the flow until the air inside the library apparatus generated by the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 is discharged to the outside. Since the path becomes shorter and the wind speed can be increased, cooling can be performed efficiently. As the flow of air inside the library device, external air is taken in from the lower surface of the library device by the cooling fan 44 and from the side and front surfaces of the library device via the filter 19 by the cooling fan 20. The heated air that has cooled the data recording / reproducing device 2 and the control unit 16 is discharged to the outside of the library device through a hole on the upper surface of the device. At this time, the cooling air flows on almost the entire front and back surfaces of the substrate section 47 and the control section 16 which are the heat generating section of the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2, and is discharged to the outside through the upper hole. Here, the air taken in from the side surface and the front surface flows on the side surface and the rear surface of the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2, hits the partition plate 17, and is influenced by the wind taken in from the lower surface and escapes to the upper part. Since there is a partition plate 17,
The heat generated by the data recording / reproducing device 2 does not affect the power supply unit 11. Since the flow path is duct-shaped similarly to the power supply unit 11, even a fan with a small flow rate can be efficiently cooled.

When the number of the data recording / reproducing devices 2 and the control unit 16 is small or the amount of heat generation is small, the number of external air intakes and cooling fans may be reduced. Conversely, if more external air is required, a duct 48 may be provided as shown in FIG.

Next, the sensor system of the embodiment will be described.
FIG. 8 shows an example of a sensor installed in the housing of the optical disk library device configured according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a sensor set on the holder. The medium ejection sensors 50a and 50b are the medium storage shelves 1
The sensor is provided between the optical disk cartridge 10 and the holder 3 or 4 and detects that the optical disk cartridge 10 has jumped out of the medium storage shelf 1 toward the holder 3 or 4. Using this sensor, it has also been confirmed that the state in which the optical disk cartridge 10 is being conveyed from the medium storage shelf 1 to the holder 3 or 4 is correct. The medium ejection sensors 50a and 50b are optical sensors, and are configured as a pair of the light emission side medium ejection sensor 50a and the light reception side medium ejection sensor 50b. That is, when the light beam from the light emission side medium pop-out sensor 50a is blocked by the optical disc cartridge 10,
This is a mechanism in which the light-receiving-side medium pop-out sensor 50b detects this.

In order to increase the storage capacity, the medium storage shelves 1 are arranged in a plurality of rows inside the optical disk library device. Since the medium ejection sensors 50a and 50b are installed in front of each row of the medium storage shelf 1, the medium ejection sensors 50a and 50b
Are also installed.

The light emitted from the light emitting medium ejection sensor 50a of each medium storage shelf 1 is emitted toward the light receiving medium ejection sensor 50b. However, the light is emitted so as not to affect the other light receiving medium ejection sensors. Side medium ejection sensor 50
Ideally, it is desirable that the light flux a does not spread and reaches the light-receiving side medium ejection sensor 50b. In the prior art, in order to realize this, a light beam narrowing-down mechanism using an expensive optical lens group, a laser module, or the like is used for the light emitting side medium pop-out sensor 50a. In this apparatus, an inexpensive high-brightness LED is used for the light-emitting-side medium pop-out sensor 50a, and light is modulated by the library control unit 16 and transmitted as a signal. The light-receiving-side medium pop-out sensor 50b sends the received light signal to the library control unit 16 and analyzes the modulation signal. Only when the analyzed modulation signal is synchronized with the modulation of the light emission side medium pop-out sensor 50a, the presence or absence of light blocking is determined. The modulation frequency is set sufficiently higher than the frequency required for controlling the medium conveyance, and the time for determining that the light modulation is synchronized does not affect the medium conveyance. The light from the light emitting side medium protrusion sensor 50a of each medium storage shelf 1 is emitted toward the light receiving side medium protrusion sensor 50b, but reaches the adjacent light receiving side medium protrusion sensor 50b by diffusion of light. However, the sensors in each row emit light from the sensor 50a with a time lag, and the signals from the sensors 50b are detected only when the sensor 50a in the own row emits light.
Even if the light of a is received, it is not the time to be detected, so there is no influence.

The retreat sensor 51a is a sensor for detecting that the holder (A) 3 is retreated from the medium transport path. The retreat sensor 51b is a sensor that detects that the holder (B) 4 is at a position retreated from the medium transport path.
When either the holder (A) 3 or the holder (B) 4 becomes inoperable, the failed holder performs the retreat operation to a position where the sensor is detected, and does not hinder the medium transport by the normal holder. To secure the transport route. The evacuation operation is performed by the up-down movement mechanism of the failed holder when the up-down movement mechanism of the failed holder is operable. When the up-down movement mechanism of the failed holder is inoperable, the failed holder is pushed out to the evacuation position by the normal holder. It can be done by doing.

The positioning sensor 52 is a sensor attached near the elevator shaft of each holder.

The position of the holder can be known from the number of rotations of the motor from an encoder attached to the elevator motor 5. The positioning sensor 52 is a sensor for confirming that the vertical positioning of the holder is performed correctly. A flag for shielding the positioning sensor 52 from light is provided for each cell, and by confirming that the number of flags has been correctly counted during the vertical movement of the holder, it is also confirmed that the holder has moved correctly. Further, after the movement of the holder is stopped, it is confirmed that the flag is correctly positioned in front of the cell because the flag shields the positioning sensor 52 from light. The positioning sensor 52 is ideally the holder 3 or 4.
However, since the holder performs a left-right operation, a flag for shielding the positioning sensor 52 cannot be mounted, and the position is set at this position.

The displacement detection sensor 53 is a sensor attached to the foremost part of the holder 3 or 4 immediately before the cell. The sensor is a sensor that detects a reference position for the library control unit 16 to recognize the amount of deformation when an unexpected external force is applied to the holder and the tip of the holder is deformed in the vertical direction. Now, consider a case where the holder is deformed downward due to an abnormal external force. If the amount of deformation exceeds the specified amount, the feeding operation of the optical disk cartridge 10 will cause an error. Upon detecting this, the library control unit 16 executes an operation for checking the amount of deformation of the holder. The procedure is to position the holder at a prescribed position in the left-right direction, and then lower the holder downward. The encoder rotational speed of the elevator motor is learned at a position where the position shift detection sensor 53 detects the position shift detection sensor 53 fixed to the floor. The amount of displacement between the learning value and the reference position is stored as the amount of deformation of the holder, and is fed back to a control parameter as a correction value for the vertical position control of the holder.

The medium presence / absence sensor 54 is connected to the holder 3 just before the cell.
Or a sensor attached to the foremost part of 4. This sensor is a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the optical disk cartridge 10 stored inside the cell. The sensor is powered
In the initialization operation at the time of ON, the presence or absence of a cartridge in the cell is checked, and the library control unit 1 of the library device is checked.
It is confirmed that there is no difference from the cartridge information stored in the nonvolatile memory mounted in No. 6 and that the cartridge is not moved while the apparatus power is off. The sensor uses a reflection type photo sensor and directly detects the cartridge. For this reason, the detection signal is affected by the color, dirt, warpage, inclination in the cell, etc. of the cartridge, and the signal is not guaranteed on all sides of the cartridge, and the detection signal may be partially lost. is there. In order to improve the reliability of cartridge detection, the presence of a cartridge needs to be determined by a micro so that erroneous detection does not occur even if a signal is partially lost. In this embodiment, a signal is confirmed at a fixed short interval between flags that can originally detect a cartridge. It is recognized that there is a case when it exceeds. This makes it possible to confirm the presence or absence of the cartridge without erroneous detection even when the cartridge is dirty and almost no signal is output.

The LR sensor 55 detects that the holder is at the reference position in the left-right direction. The reversal prohibition area sensor 56 is a sensor that detects that the holder is near the uppermost portion or the lowermost portion of the device that cannot perform the reversing operation due to the restriction due to the size. This sensor also has a reference position detecting function for the vertical movement of the holder.

The horizontal detection sensor 57 is provided in a horizontal state of the holder,
That is, it is a sensor that detects that the optical disk cartridge 10 can be inserted and withdrawn from the cell. Since the feed operation and the inversion operation are performed by the feed motor, this sensor also has a reference position detecting function of the feed operation.

Next, one embodiment of the control method of the present invention is shown in FIG.
0, FIG. 11, FIG. 12, FIG. 13, and FIG.
FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of the present invention. Host device 6
1, a library control unit 16, a data recording / reproducing device 2,
The spare data recording / reproducing device 64 is connected by the SCSI interface 62. The library control unit 16, the data recording / reproducing device 2, and the spare data recording / reproducing device 64
It is connected by a dedicated hot line 63.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the hot line 63. The hot line 63 includes a control unit transmission signal line 71, a control unit reception signal line 70, and a ground line 72. In the case of the present embodiment, the transmission signal and the reception signal exchange commands and responses in ASCII code using serial signals. The specific signal exchange will be described below. When transmitting a command from the MPU (microprocessor unit) 67 of the library control unit 16 to the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2, when the library control unit 16 transmits an ASCII code corresponding to the command to the transmission circuit 68, the transmission circuit 68 The code is converted into a serial signal and transmitted to the ODD receiving circuit 69. The receiving circuit 69 of the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 converts the serial signal into an ASCII code and transmits the ASCII code to the MPU 67 of the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2. Transmission from the data recording / reproducing device 2 to the library control unit 16 is performed in the same manner as described above.

The use of the hot line 63 is as follows. The library controller 16 checks the state of the data recording / reproducing device 2, and issues a loading command and an eject command from the library controller 16 to the data recording / reproducing device 2 to transmit data. This is an interface used to control the recording / reproducing device 2.

Next, a general medium transport sequence using the hot line 63 will be described. Library control unit 16
When the medium transport command is received from the host device 61, the medium is controlled from the medium storage shelf 1 by controlling the transport mechanism 66 and transported to the data recording / reproducing device 2. Here, the library control unit 16 checks whether the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 is in a state in which a medium can be inserted by using the hot line 63. When the medium can be inserted, the medium is inserted into the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 from the transport mechanism 8. After inserting the medium, the library control unit 16 confirms that the medium has been completely inserted into the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 by the hot line 63. When the medium has been completely inserted, the library control unit 16 issues a loading command to the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 through the hot line 63. When the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 loads the medium in accordance with the loading command and enters the READY state (R / W enabled state), it reports the end to the library control unit 16 by the hot line 63.

FIGS. 12, 13, and 14 are schematic operation sequence diagrams of the present invention.

Next, a description will be given of the operation sequence of the present invention with reference to FIG.

When a medium transport command is issued from the host device 61, the library control section 16 transports the specified medium from the medium storage shelf to the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 of the specified ID. (Conveyed to the recording / reproducing apparatus with ID = 0 in this figure) The data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 is loaded with a command via the hot line 63 of the library / library controller 16.
Perform the loading operation. At this time, if an error occurs, the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 reports the error to the library control unit 16 via the hot line 63. Library control unit 16
Pulls out the medium from the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 and, via the hot line 63, the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 (ID = 0)
To remove the ID. Thus, the data recording / reproducing device 2 does not have an ID.

Next, the library controller 16 instructs the spare data recording / reproducing device 64 (ID = none) to set the ID to 0 via the hot line 63. Thus, the spare data recording / reproducing device 64 sets the ID to 0. The library control unit 16 transports the medium to the spare data recording / reproducing device 64 whose ID has become 0, and
Is instructed to load. Spare data recording / reproducing device 6
4 executes loading and terminates normally, and then reports the termination to the library control unit 16. In response, the library control unit 16 reports the end to the host device 61.

Next, a description will be given of a read / write (R / W) operation sequence of the operation sequence of the present invention with reference to FIG.

When a read / write command is issued from the host device 61, the data recording / reproducing device 2 (in this figure, ID =
0) (conveyed to the recording / reproducing apparatus) performs a read / write operation. At this time, if an error occurs, the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 sends the data to the library controller 16 via the hot line 63.
Report to The library control unit 16 determines that the error is
In the case of a write error, the write data is transferred from the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 and stored. After that, the medium is pulled out of the data recording / reproducing device 2 and the data recording / reproducing device 2 (ID = 0) is instructed via the hot line 63 to eliminate the ID. Thus, the data recording / reproducing device 2 does not have an ID.

Next, the library control unit 16 instructs the spare data recording / reproducing device 64 via the hot line 63 to set the ID to 0 to the spare data recording / reproducing device 64 (ID = none). Thus, the spare data recording / reproducing device 64 sets the ID to 0. The library control unit 16 conveys the medium to the spare data recording / reproducing device 64 whose ID is 0, and instructs the spare data recording / reproducing device 64 to load. The spare data recording / reproducing device 64 executes the loading and terminates normally, and then reports the termination to the library control unit 16. In response to this, the library control unit 16 sets the read /
In the case of a write command and write, write data is instructed to the spare data recording / reproducing device 64 via the hot line 63. After the end of the read / write operation, the spare data recording / reproducing device 64 reports the end to the host device.

As described above, even when a failure occurs in the data recording / reproducing device 2, the optical disk library device can
It can be automatically restored.

Next, with reference to FIG. 14, a description will be given of how to speed up the transport of a medium to the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 having the same ID in the operation sequence of the present invention.

When a medium transport command is issued from the host device 61, the library controller 16 transports the specified medium from the medium storage shelf to the data recording / reproducing device 2 of the specified ID. (Conveyed to the recording / reproducing apparatus with ID = 0 in this figure) The data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 is loaded with a command via the hot line 63 of the library / library controller 16.
Perform the loading operation. When the loading is completed normally, the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2
This is reported to the library control unit 16.

At this time, when a command for transporting the medium to the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2 having the same ID is issued from the host apparatus 61, the library / library control unit 16 stores the designated medium from the medium storage shelf for the preliminary data recording / reproducing. Device 64
Transport to The spare data recording / reproducing device 64 performs a loading operation by a command via the hot line 63 of the library / library controller 16. When the loading is completed normally, the spare data recording / reproducing device 64 reports to the library control unit 16 via the hot line 63. In this state, the library control unit 16 waits for the next command issued from the host device 61 to return the medium of the data recording / reproducing device of ID = 0 to the shelf.

When the host device 61 issues a command to return the medium of the data recording / reproducing device of ID = 0 to the shelf, the library control section 16 pulls out the medium from the data recording / reproducing device 2, It instructs the data recording / reproducing device 2 (ID = 0) to eliminate the ID. Thus, the data recording / reproducing device 2 does not have an ID.
A spare data recording / reproducing device 64 via the hot line 63
Instruct (ID = none) to set the ID to 0. Thus, the spare data recording / reproducing device 64 sets the ID to 0. After the data recording / reproducing device 64 ends normally, it reports the end to the library control unit 16. In response, the library control unit 16 reports the end to the host device 61.

As described above, when the medium transport command to the data recording / reproducing apparatus having the same ID is continuously issued, most of the operations of the mechanical system have been completed, so that the access can be speeded up.

[0060]

According to the present invention, the data recording / reproducing apparatus 2
Thus, an optical disk library device that is unlikely to become unusable even when a failure occurs in the optical disk can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an internal schematic structural diagram of an optical disk library device.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a mechanism of a holder.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an embodiment of a dustproof structure and a cooling method of the library device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an embodiment of a dustproof structure and a cooling method of the library device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an embodiment of a dustproof structure and a cooling method of the library device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an embodiment of a dustproof structure and a cooling method of the library device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an embodiment of a dustproof structure and a cooling method of the library device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of a sensor installed in a housing of the optical disk library device configured according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of a sensor set on a holder.

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of an optical disk library device to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a hot line applied in the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the operation sequence of the present invention when the medium is transported.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a read / write (R / W) operation sequence of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining how the medium is transported to the data recording / reproducing apparatus having the same ID in the operation sequence according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, medium storage shelf 2, data recording / reproducing device 3, holder A 4, holder B 5, elevator motor 6, elevator motor 7, elevator shaft 8, synchro belt 9, flat cable 10, optical disk cartridge 11, power supply 12, medium input Mechanism 13, counter weight 14, counter weight 15, counter weight guide 16, library control unit 17, partition plate 18, intake port 19, filter 20, fan 21, medium holding mechanism 22, feed guide shaft 23, lead screw 24, left and right Moving guide shaft 25, synchro belt for left and right movement 26, feed motor 27, left and right moving motor 40, external air flow 41 on the side, external air flow 42 on the front surface, external air flow 43 on the lower surface 43, flow of discharged air 44, fan 5 a, light emitting side medium pop-out sensor 50b, light receiving side medium pop-out sensor 51a, retreat sensor 51b, retreat sensor 52, positioning sensor 53, displacement detection sensor 54, medium presence / absence sensor 55, LR sensor 56, reversal prohibited area sensor 57, horizontal Detection sensor 61, host device 62, SCSI interface 63, hot line 64, spare data recording / reproducing device 65, library device 66, medium transport mechanism 67, MPU 68, transmission circuit 69, reception circuit 70, control unit reception signal line 71 , Control unit transmission signal line 72, ground line

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI G06F 13/00 301 G06F 13/00 301D G11B 17/22 G11B 17/22 19/02 501 19/02 501U (72) Inventor Osamu Ichii Kanagawa 2880 Kozu, Odawara, Japan Hitachi Storage Systems, Ltd. Storage System Division (56) References JP-A-5-324207 (JP, A) JP-A-8-234929 (JP, A) JP-A-7-220374 (JP) , A) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 3/08 G06F 3/06 G06F 12/16 310 G06F 13/00 301 G11B 17/22 G11B 19/02 501

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A data storage having a storage for storing a plurality of media, a data recording / reproducing device, a mechanism for transporting a medium between the storage and the data recording / reproducing device, and a library controller for controlling the media. A data storage device having a function of switching an ID on a SCSI interface with a host device of a data recording / reproducing device mounted by the library control unit, wherein the data recording device does not have an ID on the SCSI interface. One or more playback devices are also connected, and when a failure occurs in the data recording / playback device having an ID, the library control unit automatically causes the SCSI of the data recording / playback device to fail without involvement of the host device.
A data recording / reproducing apparatus having a function of giving an ID of a failed data recording / reproducing apparatus to a data recording / reproducing apparatus having no ID on the interface instead of having an ID. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when a command for transporting the medium from the host device to the data recording / reproducing device having the same ID is continuously issued, the first command is executed, and then the second command is executed. Or the data recording / reproducing apparatus which does not have the ID according to claim 1 is conveyed to another unused data recording / reproducing apparatus, and said data recording / reproducing is performed on the medium conveyed by the first command. The ID of the data recording / reproducing device that has transported the medium specified by the second command after the transport command to a device other than the device has been issued.
A data recording / reproducing apparatus in which the second command execution time is shortened by changing the ID to an ID designated by the library control unit from the host apparatus.