JPH0428053A - Cassette rack cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatize the cleaning of a cassette rack and to easily perform the maintenance of an automatic program delivery device by using a cleaning cassette whose outside shape is formed with a dust collection member of almost the same shape as that of a tape cassette and which sucks dust by inserting to the cassette rack. CONSTITUTION:The cleaning cassette formed with the dust collection member of almost the same shape as that of the tape cassette and which sucks the dust by inserting to the cassette rack is used. The presence/absence of the tape cassette on the cassette rack 2 is detected by a cassette presence/absence detecting means 14 provided at a robot 11, and the tape cassette is retreated from the cassette housing part of the cassette rack 2 to be cleaned by a cassette retreating means 15 before performing the cleaning. Furthermore, after the cleaning of the cassette rack 2 is performed by housing in and taking out the cleaning cassette from the cassette housing part by a cassette loading/unloading means 16, the tape cassette is housed at the original position of the cassette rack 2 by a cassette return means 17. In such a way, it is possible to automatize the cleaning of the cassette rack and to easily perform the maintenance of the automatic program delivery device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a cassette shelf cleaning device used in automatic program sending devices used mainly in broadcasting stations and the like.

[Prior Art] In recent years, automatic program transmission devices have been introduced at broadcasting stations. FIG. 7 is a front view showing an example of a conventional program automatic transmission device. In the automatic program transmitter, first, at a certain time before the start of broadcasting, the robot 1 simultaneously moves in the X-Y directions, takes out the broadcasting tape cassettes stored in the cassette shelf 2, and moves them to the predetermined tape cassette position. Stop in front. Then, robot 1 uses a chuck to grab the tape cassette and put it into a video tape recorder (hereinafter referred to as V).
Move the shortest distance to opening 3 (referred to as TR). Then move the tape cassette to the back using the chuck and
Insert into TR3. When the tape cassette is finished being used, it is returned to its original position by the robot.

Because such operations are repeated, broadcast tape cassettes are moved between the cassette shelf and the VTR 3 hundreds of times a day.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Such conventional automatic program playback devices are often used in places with a lot of dust for long periods of time, and the dust adheres to the tape surface of the tape cassette, causing damage to the video head. Clogging and dropouts were causing orders to be placed. Therefore, the tape cassettes are manually taken out from the cassette shelf 2 periodically.
It is necessary to clean the cassette shelf 2 and return the tape cassette to the cassette shelf 2.

However, cleaning work is not only time-consuming, but also requires the automatic program transmission device to be stopped.

Furthermore, there is another problem in that it is difficult to thoroughly clean the depths of the cassette shelves.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems of conventional automatic program transmitters, and its technical object is to automatically clean the cassette shelf to facilitate maintenance of the automatic program transmitter.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The invention of claim 1 of the present application has a cassette shelf having a plurality of tape cassette storage sections and storing the tape cassettes, and a chuck for attaching and detaching the tape cassettes to and from the cassette shelf. A cleaning cassette whose outer shape is formed by a robot that moves the tape to a predetermined position, a dust suction member that is approximately the same shape as the tape cassette, and which absorbs dust when inserted into the cassette shelf, and a cleaning cassette that detects the presence or absence of a tape cassette on the cassette shelf. cassette presence detection means for detecting the presence or absence of a tape cassette; cassette evacuation means for using a robot to move a tape cassette from a storage area to be cleaned on a cassette shelf to an empty cassette storage area; and a cleaning cassette to be evacuated by the cassette evacuation means The present invention is characterized by comprising a cleaning cassette attaching/detaching means for attaching and detaching the cleaning cassette, and a cassette return means for storing the tape cassette evacuated by the cassette evacuating means in its original position on the cassette shelf after the cleaning cassette is attached and detached.

Further, the invention of claim 2 of the present application has a cassette shelf having a plurality of tape cassette storage parts and storing the tape cassettes, and a plurality of chucks for attaching and detaching the tape cassettes to and from the cassette shelf, and moving the tape cassettes to a predetermined position. A cleaning cassette whose external shape is formed by a dust suction member having approximately the same shape as a tape cassette, which absorbs dust when inserted into a cassette shelf, and a cassette that detects the presence or absence of a tape cassette on the cassette shelf. a detection means, a tape cassette/gutter attaching/detaching means for attaching/detaching the tape cassette from the cleaning storage section of the cassette shelf using one chuck of the robot, and a cleaning cassette for attaching/detaching the cleaning cassette to/from the empty cassette storage section by the tape cassette attaching/detaching means. The device is characterized by comprising a detachable means.

[Effect]

According to the present invention having such characteristics, the presence or absence of a tape cassette on the cassette shelf is detected by the cassette presence/absence detecting means provided in the robot.

Before cleaning, the tape cassette is evacuated from the cassette storage section of the cassette shelf to be cleaned by the cassette retraction means. Furthermore, the cassette shelf is cleaned by storing and taking out the cleaning cassette in the cassette storage section by the cleaning cassette attaching/detaching means. Then, the tape cassette is stored in the original cassette shelf position by the cassette return means, and the cassette shelf is cleaned.

Further, in the invention of claim 2, the robot 1 has a plurality of chucks, and detects the presence or absence of tape cassettes on the cassette shelf by a cassette presence/absence detection means. If there is a tape cassette, the tape cassette is held by one chuck by the tape cassette attaching/detaching means. Then, the cleaning cassette is attached to and detached from the cassette shelf by the cleaning cassette attachment/detachment means, and the cassette shelf is cleaned.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the cassette shelf cleaning device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a cassette shelf cleaning device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, a robot 11 is provided adjacent to the cassette shelf 2 to move the cassettes on the cassette shelf.

The robot 11 is provided with a chuck Ila for loading and pulling out tape cassettes into and from a storage section of a cassette shelf, and a barcode reader 12 for reading the barcode of a tape cassette when it is stored. And this robot 1
1 is controlled by the control section 13. The control section 13 has a microcomputer, a memory, and an input/output interface, and when a cleaning instruction is given and a tape cassette is stored in a storage section to be cleaned, the control section 13 moves the tape cassette to an empty storage section. Cassette evacuation means 15. This achieves the functions of a cleaning cassette attaching/detaching means 16 for attaching and detaching a cleaning cassette, and a cassette return means 17 for returning a tape cassette once moved for cleaning to its original position.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a cleaning cassette used in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning cassette 18 has the same shape as the tape cassette, and a cleaning cloth 19 is attached to the exterior of the cleaning cassette 18.

This rag 19 is made of a material that encloses the adsorbed dust and the like and does not transfer dirt to other areas.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing an automatic program transmission device to which the present invention is applied, and the same parts as in the conventional example are given the same reference numerals and detailed explanations will be omitted. The automatic program sending device is provided with a cassette shelf 2 in front of which a large number of tape cassettes are stored. The automatic program transmission device is provided with a VTR 3 having a plurality of video tape recorders (VTRs). The robot 1 has a chuck lla attached to the front of the cassette shelf 2.
1 is held movably in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, thereby making it possible to move the tape cassette to any desired position. A cleaning cassette 18 is stored at a predetermined position on the cassette shelf 2.

Next, the operation of the cassette shelf cleaning device of this embodiment will be explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When starting cleaning by external input,
First, proceed to step 21, where the robot 11 reads the barcodes of the tape cassettes stored in all the cassette shelves.
instruct. Then robot 11 will have barcode 12
reads the barcodes of all tape cassettes stored in the cassette shelf 2 and outputs the data to the control section 13. Therefore, the control unit 13 reads this information in step 22, and proceeds to step 23 to determine the position of the blank field based on the presence or absence of the barcode.

The process then proceeds to step 24, where it is determined whether a tape cassette is stored in the storage section (cleaning shelf) to be cleaned. If a tape cassette is stored, the process advances to step 25 and the tape cassette is temporarily moved to a blank space. If no tape cassette is stored in the cleaning fence, proceed to step 26 without performing this process, move to a predetermined position where the cleaning cassette 18 is stored, take out the cleaning cassette 18, and check the position of the shelf to be cleaned. move it to. The process then proceeds to step 27, where the cleaning cassette 18 is inserted into the cleaning shelf and then taken out. By thus mounting the cleaning cassette 18 on the empty storage section of the cassette shelf 2 or on the VTR 3, dust and the like can be removed. Next, proceed to step 28 to return the cleaning cassette 18 to its original position, and proceed to step 29 to check whether there is a tape cassette on the cleaning shelf, and if there is, return the tape cassette on the cleaning shelf to its original position. (step 30), and if there is no tape cassette, cleaning of this position is completed without performing this process.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a second embodiment embodying the invention of claim 2 of the present application, and the same parts as in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals and detailed explanations will be omitted. In this embodiment, the robot 11 has two chucks lla and llb and a barcode reader 12. The control section 31 has a microcomputer, a memory, and an input/output interface, and includes a cassette presence/absence detection means 32 for determining whether a tape cassette is stored in a storage section of the cassette shelf that should be cleaned, and a tape cassette on the shelf to be cleaned. Tape cassette attachment/detachment means 33 that temporarily holds the cassette using one chuck of the robot 11 and stores it in the same place after cleaning, and the cleaning cassette 1 held by the other chuck llb of the robot 11
Cleaning cassette attaching/detaching means 3 for cleaning the cassette shelf 2 by inserting and removing the cassette 8 into the shelf to be cleaned
It achieves the following functions.

Next, we will discuss the operation of the automatic program transmission device of the second embodiment.
This will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in the figure. When cleaning is started by external input, first step 4 is started.
1, the cleaning cassette 18 is taken out from the cassette shelf in which the cleaning cassette 18 is stored and held by one of the chucks, for example, chuck llb. The robot 11 then proceeds to the station 42 and instructs the robot 11 to read the barcodes of the tape cassettes stored in all the cassette shelves. The process then proceeds to step 43, where the barcode reader 12 reads the barcodes of the tape cassettes stored in all the cassette shelves. Next, in step 44, it is determined whether or not a tape cassette is stored in the cleaning shelf. If a tape cassette is stored, the tape cassette is taken out using one chuck lla of the robot 11 in step 45. On the other hand, if no tape cassette is stored, the process proceeds to step 46 and the cleaning cassette held by the other chuck llb of the robot 11 is inserted into the cleaning shelf without performing this process. Proceeding to step 47, the cleaning cassette 18 is removed.

The process then proceeds to step 48, where it is checked whether or not there was originally a tape cassette in the cleaned storage section.

If there is a tape cassette, return the tape cassette held in the chuck lla to its original position in the cleaned storage compartment, and if there is no tape in the original cleaned shelf, cleaning will be completed without performing this process. . If there are other storage units to be cleaned, the process returns to step 44 and the same process is performed.

Here, the control section 31 achieves the function of a cassette presence/absence detection means 32 for detecting whether or not a tape cassette is installed in the storage section to be cleaned in steps 42 to 44, and the cassette to be cleaned is detected in steps 46 and 47. Cleaning cassette attaching and detaching means 33 for attaching and detaching the cleaning cassette to and from the storage section of the shelf. In steps 45, 48 and 49, the function of the tape cassette attaching/detaching means for holding the tape on the shelf to be cleaned and returning it to its original position is achieved.

In this embodiment, one robot was used to clean the cassette shelves, but it goes without saying that a plurality of robots may be used to clean the cassette shelves. In this way, cleaning time can be significantly reduced.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the cleaning cassette can be used to automatically clean the cassette shelf, and it is possible to prevent dust and the like from adhering to the tape surface of the tape cassette. It is possible to prevent clogging of the magnetic recording/reproducing device and provide high-quality video and audio with fewer dropouts. Furthermore, if the automatic program feeder is operated to automatically clean the cassette shelves during times when broadcasting is not being performed, such as at night, it will not interfere with normal operation and maintenance will be easier.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a cassette shelf cleaning device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a cleaning cassette, and FIG. 3 is a diagram to which the cassette shelf cleaning device of this embodiment is applied. A front view of the automatic program sending device, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of this embodiment,
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the cassette shelf cleaning device of the second embodiment, FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the second embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a front view of a conventional program automatic transmission device. 2--Cassette shelf 3.11--Robot 11a, llb--Chuck 12
−・−・−・・Barcode reader 13.31・・−
...-Control unit 14゜32--"・Cassette presence/absence detection means 15--Cassette evacuation means
16, 34---Cleaning cassette attaching/detaching means 17---Cassette return means 33---
−・Tape cassette attachment/detachment means. Patent applicant Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A cassette shelf having a plurality of tape cassette storage parts and storing tape cassettes; a robot having a chuck for attaching and detaching tape cassettes to and from the cassette shelf and moving the tape cassettes to predetermined positions; and a tape cassette. a cleaning cassette whose outer shape is formed by a dust suction member having approximately the same shape and which adsorbs dust when inserted into the cassette shelf; a cassette presence/absence detection means for detecting the presence or absence of a tape cassette on the cassette shelf; cassette evacuation means for moving the tape cassette from a storage section to be cleaned on a cassette shelf to an empty cassette storage section; and a cleaning cassette attaching/detaching means for attaching and detaching the cleaning cassette to the empty cassette storage section evacuated by the cassette evacuation means. A cassette shelf cleaning device comprising: cassette return means for storing the tape cassette evacuated by the cassette evacuating means in its original position on the cassette shelf after the cleaning cassette is attached or detached. (2) a cassette shelf having a plurality of tape cassette storage parts and storing tape cassettes; a robot having a plurality of chucks for attaching and detaching tape cassettes to and from the cassette shelf and moving the tape cassettes to predetermined positions; a cleaning cassette whose outer shape is formed by a dust suction member having approximately the same shape as a cassette, and which adsorbs dust when inserted into the cassette shelf; a cassette presence/absence detection means for detecting the presence or absence of a tape cassette on the cassette shelf; and the robot. tape cassette attaching and detaching means for attaching and detaching the tape cassette from the cleaning storage section of the cassette shelf using one of the chucks; cleaning cassette attaching and detaching means for attaching and detaching the cleaning cassette to and from the cassette storage section vacated by the tape cassette attaching and detaching means; A cassette shelf cleaning device comprising: (3) The cassette shelf cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the number of said robots is plural.