JPH03228257A - Automatic information storage medium cassette exchanger - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accurately align the position of a carrier part to a housing part and an information processing part by setting a 1st reference position as a reference position at the time of stopping a carrier frame to the housing part and a 2nd reference position as a reference stopping position at the time of stopping the carrier frame to the information processing part. CONSTITUTION:When a cassette 12 is taken out of the housing part 14 by moving the carrier frames 32a and 32b or a cassette 12 is brought back to the housing part 14, the carrier frames 32a and 32b are moved and stopped to plural housing racks 22a1-22a25 with a reference of the 1st reference position A. Then, when a cassette 12 is loaded into the information processing part 18 by moving the carrier frames 32a and 32b or a cassette 12 is taken out of the information processing part 18, the carrier part 20 is moved and stopped to the information processing part 18 with a reference of the 2nd reference positions B and C which are different from the 1st reference position A. By this method, the alignment of the position of the carrier part to the housing part and the information processing part can accurately be performed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Objective of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is directed to selecting a specified optical disk cassette from a storage section that accommodates a plurality of disk cassettes, for example, and inserting the selected optical disk cassette into an optical disk device. The present invention relates to an automatic cassette exchange device for information storage media which loads an optical disk cassette and automatically takes out the optical disk cassette from an optical disk device and stores it in a storage section.

(Prior Art) For example, an automatic cassette exchange device for information storage media, so-called optical discs, includes a storage section that stores a number of cassettes containing optical discs, and when the cassettes are loaded, a laser beam is irradiated onto the optical discs in the cassettes. The information processing unit performs information processing such as recording information on the destination disc or extracting information from the optical disc and reproducing it, and the cassette is transported between the storage unit and the information processing unit and the cassette is transferred to the storage unit and the information processing unit. It also includes a transport unit that takes in and out of the information processing unit.

The transport section is set at a fixed position with respect to the storage section and the information processing section, and has a transport frame that receives a cassette from the storage section and moves between the storage section and the information processing section. . The transport frame moves to a position facing the storage section, selects a designated cassette from among the plurality of cassettes stored in the storage section, and takes in the cassette. This transport frame is then moved to the information processing section, and the transported cassette is supplied to the information processing section.

Further, the transport frame receives a cassette for which information processing has been completed in the information processing section, moves the cassette to a position facing the storage section, and returns the cassette to a predetermined storage location in the storage section.

Such an automatic cassette exchange device can store a plurality of cassettes in the storage section, so it has the advantage of being able to record a large amount of information.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the conventional automatic cassette exchange device, when a desired cassette is taken in from among a plurality of cassettes housed in the storage section and supplied to the information processing section, the storage section One reference position is set for the information processing unit and the information processing unit, and the transport unit is moved based on this position.

However, when moving the transport unit based on one position with respect to the storage unit and the information processing unit, errors in assembly of the storage unit, assembly error of the information processing unit, and assembly error between the storage unit and the information processing unit, etc. However, there was a problem in that the transport section was not accurately aligned with the storage section and the information processing section.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides an automatic cassette exchange device for information storage media that can accurately align a transport section with respect to a storage section and an information processing section.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a storage unit having a plurality of storage shelves capable of storing cassettes containing information storage media, and a storage unit for storing cassettes containing information storage media. It has an information processing section that performs storage or reproduction processing of information on the storage section and a transport frame that takes the cassette in and out of the storage section and the information processing section, and a transport system that transports the cassette between the storage section and the information processing section. In the automatic cassette exchange device for information storage media, the first reference is a reference position at which the transport frame is stopped relative to the storage unit when the transport frame takes the cassette into or out of the storage unit. and a second reference position that is a reference stop position for stopping the transport frame relative to the information processing unit when the transport frame takes the cassette into or out of the information processing unit. To provide an automatic cassette exchange device for information storage media.

(Function) In the automatic cassette exchange device of the present invention, for example, when the transport frame takes out a cassette stored in the storage unit, transports it, and loads it into the information processing unit, the transport frame is stopped relative to the storage unit. The first position is the reference stop position when
A reference position is set for the information processing unit, and a second reference position that is a reference stop position when stopping the conveyance frame is set separately for the information processing unit. Accordingly, when moving the transport frame to take out a cassette from the storage unit or return the cassette to the storage unit, the transport frame moves and stops relative to the plurality of storage shelves based on the first reference position. In addition, when moving the transport frame to load a cassette into the information processing unit or to take out a cassette from the information processing unit, the transport unit performs information processing based on a second reference position different from the first reference position. It is possible to move and stop the parts.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows an image information storage and retrieval device to which the automatic cassette exchange device for information storage media of the present invention is applied.

A main control device 100 is arranged approximately in the center of this device. This main control device 100 includes a reading device 200,
It is connected to an automatic cassette exchange device 300, a keyboard 400, an output device 500, a recording device 600, and a floppy disk device 700, and performs various image information processing.

The reading device 200 is composed of, for example, a two-dimensional scanning device, and generates electrical signals corresponding to image information on the document by two-dimensionally scanning an original such as a document with a laser beam.

The automatic cassette exchange device 300 includes a storage section (described later) in which a plurality of cassettes are stored, and an information processing section (described later) that performs information processing on the information storage medium loaded with the cassettes and housed in the cassette. ) and these storage parts,
and a conveyance section that conveys the cassette between the information processing sections. And this cassette automatic exchange device 300
The transport unit takes in a desired cassette from among the cassettes stored in the storage unit, and the transport unit loads it into the information processing unit, or the transport unit takes in the cassette loaded in the information processing unit, and the transport unit loads the cassette into the information processing unit. The part is stored in the storage part.

A keyboard 400 is used to input a unique search code corresponding to image information, various operation commands, and the like.

The output device 500 is composed of a CRT display device, and contains image information read by the reading device 200 and supplied via the main controller 100, and image information read from the automatic cassette exchange device 300 and supplied via the main controller 100. Image information, a search code read from the floppy disk device 700 and supplied via the main controller 100, a search code input using the keyboard 400, etc. are displayed.

The recording device 600 stores image information read by the reading device 200 and supplied via the main control device 100 or read from the automatic cassette exchange device 300 and sent to the main control device 100.
outputs the image information supplied through it in hard copy form.

The floppy disk device 700 is an information storage medium (described later) into which a search code input using the keyboard 400 and image information corresponding to the search code are input.
Search data for each image information consisting of the above storage address is stored on a floppy disk (not shown). The information storage medium has information forming layers on both sides that can be recorded and reproduced by laser beams, etc., and is housed in a cassette (described later).

Next, the internal structure of the information storage medium automatic skein/node exchange apparatus 300 shown in FIG. 2 will be explained in detail with reference to FIG. 1.

Inside the automatic cassette exchange device 300, a storage section 14 capable of storing a plurality of cassettes 12 containing information storage media is arranged. Furthermore, an information processing section 18 is disposed below the storage section 14, which performs information processing such as storing or reproducing information on the information storage medium 16 housed in the cassette 12 by loading the cassette 12 therein. has been done. Further, a conveying section 20 is provided for conveying the cassette 12 between the storage section 14 and the information processing section 18.

The storage section 14 has 25 slots (storage shelves) 22al, 2, so as to be able to store, for example, 25 cassettes 12.
2a2, . . . , 22a25 are provided.

These slots 22a1 to 22a25 are arranged so that the mounting surfaces 24al to 24a25 on which the cassette 12 is mounted are parallel to each other, and
The configuration is such that the intervals from 4al to 24a 25 are the same. In addition, each slot 22at to 22a
25 are constructed so that all widths in the vertical direction (Z direction) in the figure are equal.

The information processing unit 18 consists of two information storage medium recording and reproducing devices 26a and 26b.Since these information storage medium recording and reproducing devices 26a and 26b are well-known devices, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. By taking the cassette 12 inside through the openings 27a and 27b and opening the cassette 12 as shown in FIG. 3, the information storage medium 16 is exposed and the information storage medium 16 can be used to store or reproduce information. It is now possible to process information.

Here, the cassette 12 and the information storage medium 16 will be explained based on FIG. 3. The cassette 12 is made of plastic (acrylonitrile, butadiene, styrene resin, etc.).
It houses an information storage medium 16, a so-called optical disk. As is well known, the optical disc 16 has upper forming layers on both sides that allow recording and reproduction using a laser beam or the like. The cassette 12 is normally closed, but as described above, it is opened inside the recording/reproducing apparatus as shown in FIG. 3 to expose the optical disc 16 inside.

This cassette 12 is an optical disk recording/reproducing device 26a,
When the cassette 12 and the optical disk recording/reproducing devices 26a, 26b, etc. are made of easily moldable plastic, static electricity is likely to be generated.

Therefore, a static eliminating brush 2 is placed around the periphery of the cassette 12 loading openings 27a and 27b of the optical disk recording and reproducing devices 26a and 26b.
7c and 27d are provided. These static eliminating brushes 27c and 27d
However, the cassette 12 and the optical disk recording/reproducing device 26a, 2
6b, even if static electricity is generated, this static electricity will not be applied to the electronic components that are placed in the optical disk recording/reproducing devices 26a, 26b and perform information processing on the loaded optical disk. will no longer be discharged. Therefore, these electronic components and the like will not malfunction.

Further, the conveying unit 20 includes a carriage 30 attached to a guide rod 28 erected in the Z direction so as to be movable in the Z direction.
b are provided consecutively in the Z direction. In addition, the transport frame 3
The widths of the frame portions 33a, 33b, 33c of the frame portions 2a, 32b in the vertical direction (Z direction) in the figure are all equal, and this width is configured to be equal to the width of the slots 22a1 to 22a 25 of the storage portion 14 described above. has been done.

These transport frames 32a and 32b each hold a cassette 12 of an optical disc, and a cassette transport mechanism (not shown) moves the storage section 14, the optical disc recording/reproducing device 26a,
The cassette 12 in the cassette 26b is pulled out and received, and the cassette 12 supported by the transport frames 32a and 32b is pushed out by this cassette transport mechanism and delivered to the storage section 14 and the optical disk recording and reproducing devices 25a and 26b. There is.

The carriage 30 attached to the transport section 20 is moved by a drive motor 34 along a guide rod 28 in the vertical direction (in two directions) in the figure, and this guide rod 28 has an upper end 40a and a lower end 40b attached to the frame. 42
a and 42b.

The frames 42a and 42b also include rollers 44 near the upper end 40a and lower end 40b of the guide rod 28.
a and 44b are pivotally supported, and a belt 46 is stretched between the upper and lower rollers 44a and 44b so as to run endlessly along the guide rod 28. Further, the roller 44b is configured to rotate together with a shaft 48, and an absolute value encoder 50 is attached to one end of the shaft 48. This absolute value encoder 50
When the shaft 4b and the shaft 48 rotate, the position of the axis corresponding to the amount of rotation is displayed as an absolute value, and even if the power is cut off for some reason, the power will be cut off when the power is turned on again. The previous display value is displayed again. Moreover, this absolute value encoder 50 can be turned off when power is turned off,
It is not affected by errors caused by noise, etc. caused by re-loading. Further, the roller 44b is driven by the driving force of the drive motor 34 on the pulley 52. Belt 54° pulley 5
6, a belt 58, etc. Then, a part of the belt 46 mentioned above is attached to the carriage 3.
0, and when the drive motor 34 rotates forward and backward, the carriage 30 moves in the Z direction, that is, in the up and down direction.

Further, a drive motor 60 is provided at one end of the carriage 30.
is located. This drive motor 60 has a pulley 62. Shaft 6 via belt 64 and boot 1J66
8, and the driving force of this drive motor 60 is transmitted to the transport frames 32a, 3 through the shaft 68 and the like mentioned above.
2b. That is, by rotating the drive motor 60 in the forward and reverse directions, the transport frames 32a and 32b are rotated in the forward and reverse directions.

An opening/closing lid 38 is provided on one side of the automatic cassette exchange device 300, that is, on a side wall located on the reflective side of the transport section 20 with respect to the storage section 14, so that the cassette 12 can be stored from the outside into the storage section 14. It has become.

In the automatic cassette exchange device having such a configuration, when moving the carriage 30 to take out the cassette 12 from the storage section 14 and loading it into the optical disk recording/reproducing devices 26a, 26b, which are the information processing section 18, the Carriage 30. In particular, the first reference position A is the reference stop position of the transport frame central part 70 located in the center of the transport frames 32a, 32b, and the first reference position A is the reference stop position of the transport frame central part 70 with respect to the optical disk recording and reproducing devices 26a, 26b. The two reference positions B and C are each set independently. That is, the first reference position A of the central portion 70 of the transport frame with respect to the storage section 14 is set to the position of the slot 22alO of the storage section 14.

That is, the height in the Z direction of the mounting surface 24 a 10 of the slot 22 a 10 of the storage section 14, the transport frame 32 a,
The height of the top surface 74 of the central portion 70 of the transport frame 32b in the Z direction is adjusted, and this position is independently detected by the absolute value encoder 50 and set as a first reference position A. At this time, storage section 1
In each of the slots 22al to 22a 25 of 4, the intervals between the mounting surfaces 24a1 to 24a25 are the same pitch, and the width in the Z direction of each slot 22a1 to 22a 25 and the frame portion 33b of the transport frames 32a and 32b are the same. The widths in two directions are equal to each other. For this reason, the storage section 14
The position of slot 22 a 10 is determined by the absolute value encoder 5.
0, the other slots 22a1 to 22a9, 22a are detected at the position of the central portion 70 of the transport frame.
The positions ll to 22a 25 can each be set by the absolute value encoder 50. Also,
The second reference positions B and C of the central portion 7° of the transport frame with respect to the optical disk recording and reproducing devices 26a and 26b are independently set in the optical disk recording and reproducing devices 26a and 26b, respectively. That is, the position of the upper surface part 74 of the transport frame central part 70 is aligned with the position of the lower end 72a in the vertical direction (two directions) of the loading port 27a of the optical disk recording/reproducing device 26a, and this position is independently determined by the absolute value encoder 50. is detected and set as the second reference position B. Also, align the upper surface 74 of the transport frame central section 70 with the lower end 72b of the loading port 27b of the optical disk recording/reproducing device 26b in the vertical direction (Z direction), and independently adjust this position using the absolute value encoder 50. It is detected and set as the second reference position C.

As described above, the first and second reference positions A and B.

An automatic cassette exchange device for optical discs in which C is set independently will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

For example, the cassette 12 placed in the slot 22 a 10 of the storage section 14 is transferred to the optical disc recording/reproducing device 26 .
The operation will be described in the case where the operator inputs a command to load the cartridge a into the computer using the keyboard 400 shown in FIG. 2.

First, in the X route shown in FIG.
) is designed to check the internal status of the

That is, it is checked whether or not the cassette 12a remains in the designated optical disk recording/reproducing device 26a, and if the cassette 12a remains, it is detected whether or not the cassette 12a is opened as shown in FIG. And if this is open, it will be closed. Then, the closed cassette 12a1 loading port 2 of the optical disk recording/reproducing device 26a
7a to wait for unloading and return.

Furthermore, in the Y route shown in FIG. 4, the transport frames 32a and 32b are controlled.

That is, the transport frames 32a and 32b are connected to the guide rod 28.
After detecting the position of the carriage 30,
It is moved up and down to a position opposite to the storage location of the designated cassette 12b accommodated in the slot 22a10. At this time, slots 22al to 22a 25
When moving the transport frames 32a and 32b between them, the position of the transport frames 32a and 32b on the guide rod 28 is detected by the absolute value encoder 50. At this time, the position of the upper surface part 74 of the transport frame central part 70 is aligned in advance with the position of the mounting surface 24 a to of the slot 22 a 10 in the vertical direction (Z direction), and the absolute value at this position is The value at the encoder 50 is detected in advance. Also, each thrower) 2
Since 2al to 22a 25 are arranged at equal intervals, by measuring this distance in advance, the value of the absolute value encoder 50 on the mounting surface 24a 10 of the slot 22a 10 is used as a reference. , each slot 22
The positions of al to 22 a 25 can be found.

In this way, the transport frames 32a and 32b are moved relative to the slots 22al to 22a25, and as shown in FIG.
is faced with. At this time, the height of the mounting surface 24alO of the slot 22a10 in the vertical direction (Z direction) and the height of the upper surface part 74 of the transport frame central part 70 in the vertical direction (Z direction) match. Here, as shown in FIG. 5(B), as shown in FIG. 5(C), the specified cassette 12b accommodated in the slot 22a10 is taken in and transported by the aforementioned cassette transport mechanism (not shown). frame 32a
to be accommodated.

Next, the transport frame 32a is moved downward in the vertical direction (Z direction), and as shown in FIG. let At this time, the optical disk recording/reproducing device 2
Lower end 72 in the vertical direction (Z direction) of the loading port 27a of 6a
The height of a and the height of the upper surface portion 74 of the transport frame central portion 70 in the vertical direction (Z direction) match.

Then, the specified cassette 12b housed in the optical disk recording and reproducing device 26a is closed, and the specified cassette 12b containing the optical disk 16 and being unloaded is moved to the optical disk recording and reproducing device as shown in FIG. 6(B). 2
The two cassettes 6a are drawn into the transport frame 32b from the loading port 27a by a not-shown cassette transport mechanism. At this time, the vertical direction (Z direction) of the loading port 27a of the optical disk recording/reproducing device 26a
The height of the lower end 72a in the transport frame central portion 70 is determined separately from the height of the mounting surface 24a10 of the slot 22a10.
The position is detected in advance by the absolute value encoder 50 in accordance with the upper surface portion 74 of. Therefore, due to assembly errors between the storage section 14 and the optical disk recording/playback device 26a, etc., the distance between the optical disk recording/playback device 26a, etc., and the slots 22a1 to 22a 25 of the storage section 14 differs from device to device. Even in this case, the transport frames 32a and 32b accurately face the optical disk recording/reproducing device 26a, and the cassette 12
b can be drawn into the transport frame through the loading port 27a.

Then, as described above, the specified cassette 12b is inserted into the designated cassette 12b as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6(D), when the cassette is drawn into the transport frame 32b into the cassette transport mechanism (not shown) as shown in FIG.
The transport frames 32a and 32b are moved in the vertical direction (Z direction) and stopped at a position where the transport frame 32a faces the loading port 27a of the optical disk recording/reproducing device 26a. At this time, the vertical direction (Z
The height of the lower end 72a in the vertical direction (direction) and the height of the upper surface portion 74 of the transport frame central portion 70 in the vertical direction (Z direction) match.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 7(A) and (B), the transport frame 3
The designated cassette 12b housed in the optical disc recording/reproducing device 26a is transferred to the loading port 27a of the optical disk recording/reproducing device 26a by a cassette transport mechanism (not shown). Then, as shown in FIG. 7(C), it is transferred from the transport frame 32a to the optical disk recording/reproducing device 26a.

As shown in the Z route, the optical disk recording and reproducing device 26a that has accepted the specified cassette 12b detects that the cassette 12b has been loaded, and stores the specified cassette 12b within the optical disk recording and reproducing device 26a as shown in FIG. The optical disc 16 is opened to expose the optical disc 16.
Recording or reproduction processing is performed by irradiating the disc with a laser beam.

Further, the cassette 12b taken out from the optical disk recording/reproducing device 26a and housed in the transport frame 32b is
2a, 32b, thrower) 22al to 22
When the cassette 12b is placed on the optical disc recording/reproducing device 26a, the operation opposite to the above-mentioned operation is performed to move the cassette 12b from the optical disk recording/reproducing device 26a to the slots 22a1 to 22a1 of the storage section 14, as shown in FIG. 22 a 25 (8th
In the figure.

An operation is performed to store it in the slot 22a9°).

In this way, this cassette automatic exchange device 300
The cassette 12b is replaced automatically.

As described above, the absolute value encoder 50 detects the position of the storage section 14 and the optical disk recording/reproducing devices 26a and 26b independently at the position of the central portion 70 of the transport frame, and Optical disk recording/playback device 2
The transport frames 32a and 32b are moved relative to 6a and 26b.

In this way, by independently detecting the position of each component and adjusting the position of the transport frame, errors in the positional relationship that occur due to the assembly of the storage section 14 and the optical disk recording and reproducing devices 26a and 26b can be avoided. Regardless, the transport frames 32a, 32b can be accurately aligned for each configuration.

Note that, although two conveyance frames 32a and 32b used in this embodiment are arranged in a row, the present invention is not limited to this, and a single conveyance frame may be used. In addition, the slot 22 a of the storage section 14
10, and the position of the transport frame center 70 was detected by the absolute value encoder 50. However, the position where the transport frame center 70 is aligned is slot 22 a
10, slots 22al to 2
2125 may be used. Furthermore, although an optical disk cassette 12 is used in the present invention, the invention is not limited to this, and a magnetic disk cassette or the like may be used.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the position of the transport section relative to the storage section and the information processing section can be accurately adjusted.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an automatic cassette exchange device for information storage media showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing an image information storage and retrieval device, and Fig. 3 shows a cassette of an information storage medium. A perspective view, FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart of the automatic cassette exchange device, and FIGS. 5 and 6 to 8 are explanatory diagrams of the operation of the automatic cassette exchange device. 14... Storage section, 18... Information processing section 20... Transport section, A, B, C... First and second reference positions

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A storage unit having a plurality of storage shelves that can store cassettes containing information storage media, an information processing unit that performs information storage or reproduction processing on the information storage medium, and a storage unit that stores the cassettes. In an automatic cassette exchange device for information storage media, the information storage medium cassette automatic exchange device has a transport frame that moves in and out of the storage unit and the information processing unit, and a transport unit that transports the cassette between the storage unit and the information processing unit. , a first reference position that is a reference position for stopping the transport frame with respect to the storage unit when the transport frame takes a cassette into or out of the storage unit; and a first reference position with respect to the information processing unit. A cassette of an information storage medium, characterized in that a second reference position is set as a reference stop position for stopping the transport frame for the information processing unit when the transport frame takes in and out the cassette. Automatic exchange device.