JPH0612754A - Automatic changer device for tape-shaped medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify the structure of a cassette insertion and ejection part by interlocking the vertical movement of a carriage provided on a changer part and the pressing operation of a roller to a cassette. CONSTITUTION:When the cassette 11 is inserted, the carriage 9 constituting the changer part 6 is raised and whose actuating member 31 is engaged with the projecting part 30 of an upper guide 22 and the upper guide 22 is rotated upward, and a door 36 provided in the vicinity of the opening end of a cassette holding part 21 is made rotatable. When the cassette is inserted into the cassette holding part 21 in such a state, the carriage 9 is lowered slightly and the upper guide 22 is rotated downward and the cassette 11 is pressed by the roller 27. Then, the cassette 11 is drawn to the prescribed position of the holding part 21 by the rotation of the roller 27 and stopped. The carriage 9 is raised slightly from the position, and the actuating member 31 is engaged with the projecting part 30 of the upper guide 22 and the upper guide 22 is rotated upward, and pressure by the roller 27 is released and the cassette 11 becomes free. Thus, the cassette 11 is loaded on a drive part.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention has a function of accommodating and storing a plurality of cassettes containing tape-shaped information media for backing up information in an information processing apparatus, and automatically exchanging and transporting these cassettes. The present invention relates to a tape-shaped medium automatic changer device, and more particularly to a tape-shaped medium automatic changer device having an improved cassette insertion / ejection portion for inserting a cassette into the device and ejecting the cassette from the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the present information age, since a large amount of information is distributed in a wide range of fields, the number of cases of using information processing devices by application of electronic technology is gradually increasing. In addition, it is expected that the range of application will be further expanded in the future due to the higher performance of information processing equipment and the sophistication of operations due to advances in software technology. However, as the amount of information increases and the processing speed increases, the information recorded on the medium is more likely to be lost or damaged. In order to prevent the occurrence of such an undesired situation, generally, so-called backup processing is performed to protect the recorded information regardless of whether the recorded information is processed or not.

A magnetic disk device or a magnetic tape device is generally used to perform the backup process as described above, but since the development of a high density magnetic recording medium has progressed, for example, an 8 mm magnetic tape is used. A large amount of information can be recorded by using the helical scan method used. Therefore, even with large-scale and expensive backup devices that used open-reel magnetic tapes in the past, the use of 8mm magnetic tapes is now considered to be the most suitable because the bit cost of information has been reduced. ， It is expected that further miniaturization will continue in the future.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a tape-shaped medium automatic changer device which is the object of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an accommodating portion, which is provided with a plurality of slot-like magazines 2 formed in, for example, a box shape and capable of accommodating a cassette (not shown) containing a tape-shaped information medium. . A drive unit 3 is formed so that reading and writing can be performed on the tape-shaped information medium in the cassette, and has an opening 4 for inserting and ejecting the cassette.
A cassette insertion / ejection portion 5 is formed so that the cassette can be inserted into the apparatus and ejected to the outside of the apparatus.

Next, 6 is a changer section, which is a storage section 1,
It is formed so as to be opposed to the drive unit 3 and the cassette insertion / ejection unit 5. That is, the changer portion 6 is formed so as to be movable in the left-right direction (X direction), the Z carriage 8 formed in the X carriage 7 so as to be movable in the vertical direction (Z direction), and the Z carriage 8
And a Y carriage 9 formed so as to be movable in the front-rear direction (Y direction). 1a is a storage door.

With the above structure, the cassette stored in the storage portion 1 is inserted into the drive portion 3 via the changer portion 6.
It can be stored in a predetermined magazine 2 in the storage section 1 again after being inserted into the storage unit 1 and executing a predetermined recording / reproducing process.
When a new cassette is stored or inserted in the storage unit 1 or the drive unit 3, first, the new cassette is inserted into the cassette insertion / ejection unit 5 and executed via the changer unit 6. On the other hand, when the cassette in the storage unit 1 or the drive unit 3 is to be discharged to the outside of the device, it is first discharged to the cassette insertion and discharge unit 5 via the changer unit 6 and then to the outside of the device.

[0007]

In the drive unit having the above structure, if a cassette containing an information medium is inserted through the opening 4, the cassette can be inserted in the same manner as in a cassette deck or a video deck used in a general household. At the inserted position, the reading and / or writing process can be executed on the built-in tape-shaped information medium. Therefore, the cassette may be fixed at the insertion position.

However, in the cassette insertion / ejection section 5, it is necessary to draw the newly inserted cassette to a predetermined position and then convey it to the magazine 2 of the storage section 1 via the changer section 6. Conversely, the magazine 2 in the storage unit 1
It is necessary to eject the cassette taken out from the cassette via the changer unit 6 to a predetermined position of the cassette insertion / ejection unit 5, and then to the outside. That is, the cassette insertion / ejection portion 5 has both functions of pulling in and ejecting the cassette while the cassette is constrained when inserting and ejecting the cassette, and releasing the constraint of the cassette when exchanging the cassette with the changer portion 6. Must be prepared.

Further, the cassette insertion / ejection section 5 must have a so-called security function for eliminating the accidental insertion of an undesignated cassette by inserting only the cassette compatible with the storage section 1 and the drive section 3. is there. Further, since the cassette insertion / ejection portion 5 is originally a narrow portion, it is required that the structure is simple and the reliability is high.

Various proposals have been made for the tape-shaped medium automatic changer, but there are problems that the structure is complicated, downsizing is difficult, and the reliability is low. In order to solve these problems, the present applicant has already filed an application for a deep automatic changer device (Japanese Patent Application No. 4-67921).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above problems existing in the prior art, and to provide a tape-shaped medium automatic changer device which has a simple structure, can be downsized, and is highly reliable.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, an accommodating portion formed so as to accommodate a plurality of cassettes accommodating tape-shaped information media in the same housing. A cassette insertion / ejection section formed so that the cassette can be inserted into and ejected from the apparatus, and a drive section formed to perform a read / write process on an information medium in the cassette; Provided are a changer portion that is provided so as to face the storage portion, the cassette insertion / ejection portion, and the drive portion and is capable of transferring cassettes, and a control portion that controls the operations of the cassette insertion / ejection portion, the drive portion, and the changer portion. In the tape-shaped medium automatic changer device as described above, the cassette insertion / ejection section has a pair of upper guides and lower guides provided facing each other, and the opening is exposed to the outside. A bottom holding portion, and an upper guide rotatably formed via a support shaft provided on the inner side thereof, and the upper guide rotatably and selectively facing the cassette holding portion. The roller is provided with a protrusion that can be engaged with and disengaged from an operating member provided on the carriage that constitutes the changer unit, and the upper guide is rotated in conjunction with the vertical movement of the carriage to rotate the roller. The cassette is configured to be selectively pressed through the door, a door and a link member are provided in the vicinity of the opening end of the cassette holder, and the door is always non-rotatable due to interference with the upper guide. When the cassette is inserted, the interference is canceled by the rotation of the upper guide so that the upper guide is rotatable, the link member is rotatable, and the one end is engaged with and disengaged from the door. By the engagement between the capacity and operating member is formed so as to rotate the door,
I adopted the technical means.

[0012]

With the above construction, when the carriage constituting the changer portion is not present in the vicinity of the cassette insertion / ejection portion, or even if it is present in the vicinity thereof, the actuating member and the protruding portion are in the disengaged state, That is, when the cassette is not inserted, the door provided near the open end of the cassette holding part interferes with the upper guide, and the door does not rotate, thus preventing the insertion of the cassette into the cassette insertion / ejection part. The so-called security function that prevents the wrong insertion of a cassette not specified is exhibited.

Next, when a cassette containing tape-shaped information is inserted into the apparatus from the outside, firstly, the carriage constituting the changer unit is raised and the operating member provided on the carriage is provided on the upper guide. Engaged with the protruding part,
The upper guide is rotated upward so that the door provided in the vicinity of the opening end of the cassette holder can be rotated.

When the cassette is inserted into the cassette holding portion through the opening of the cassette insertion / ejection portion in this state, the carriage constituting the changer portion is slightly lowered, the upper guide is rotated downward, and the roller presses the cassette. Then, the rotation of the roller causes the cassette to be pulled to a predetermined position of the cassette holding portion and stopped.

From this position, the carriage is slightly raised, and the operating member provided on the carriage engages with the protrusion provided on the upper guide to rotate the upper guide upward,
The roller pressurization of the cassette is released and the cassette becomes free. Therefore, the arm provided on the carriage operates to grip the cassette and hold it in the changer section. After that, by moving the changer unit, the held cassette can be stored in the magazine of the storage unit or mounted in the drive unit.

On the other hand, when the cassette in the apparatus is ejected to the outside, the carriage holding the cassette approaches the predetermined position of the cassette insertion / ejection portion, and the upper guide is rotated upward through the operating member and the protrusion. . In this state, the cassette grasped by the arm is inserted into the cassette holding section of the cassette insertion / ejection section. Next, when the carriage is slightly lowered, the upper guide is rotated downward, and the roller presses the cassette.

When the carriage is further lowered, the operating member comes into contact with one end of the link member to rotate the link member,
The other end of the link member rotates the door to open the cassette holding portion. If the roller is rotated in the opposite direction in this state, the cassette can be ejected out of the apparatus.

[0018]

FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view of the essential parts of an embodiment of the present invention, in which the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals as in FIG. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 10 denotes a housing, in which a housing portion 1 formed to accommodate a plurality of cassettes 11 containing a tape-shaped information medium, a cassette 11 inserted into the apparatus, and an apparatus outside Cassette insertion / ejection section 5 formed so as to be ejected to and from the information medium 12 in the cassette 11 and a drive formed so that processing such as reading and / or writing can be performed via the rotary head 13, for example. A portion 3 and a changer portion 6 that is movable to face the above-mentioned components and is capable of receiving and delivering the cassette 11 are provided.

Reference numeral 14 is a control unit, which is an interface unit 1.
5, the operation of the cassette insertion / ejection section 5, the drive section 3 and the changer section 6 is controlled.
Like the other constituent members, it is provided in the housing 10. Reference numeral 16 is a connection unit that connects the control unit 14 and an external host processor (not shown) so that commands can be exchanged. This embodiment shows an example in which two sets of drive units 3 are provided and can be connected to any of the two sets of external host processors.

With the above configuration, the read and / or write processing for the information medium 12 in the drive unit 3, the drive unit 3, the storage unit 1 and the cassette insertion / ejection unit are executed by the command from the external host processor and / or the control unit 14. It is possible to carry out processes such as transfer of the cassette 11 to and from the device 5, insertion of the cassette 11 into the device through the cassette insertion / ejection unit 5, and ejection to the outside of the device.

FIG. 3 shows the cassette insertion / ejection section 5 in FIG.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged explanatory view of a longitudinal section of a main part showing FIG.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a main part of an A section, and in each of the figures, a part thereof is omitted and hatching for displaying a section is omitted for easy understanding. The same parts are designated by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. In FIGS. 3 and 4, reference numeral 21 denotes a cassette holding portion, which is formed by a pair of upper guide 22 and lower guide 23 provided so as to face each other so that the opening 24 is exposed to the outside. Reference numeral 25 denotes a support shaft, which is provided on the inner side of the upper guide 22 and rotatably supports the upper guide 22. A pressure spring 26 is provided on the support shaft 38 so as to urge the upper guide 22 in the clockwise direction.

Next, 27 is a roller, for example, the outer layer of which is formed of rubber or other flexible elastic material, and is rotatably provided on the upper guide 22 so as to face the cassette holding portion 21. Reference numeral 28 denotes a motor, which is provided on the upper guide 22 and configured to rotate the roller 27 via a gear train 29. 30 is a protrusion, and the upper guide 22
Is formed on the side edge of the Y carriage 9 and is detachably formed with the operating member 31 provided on the Y carriage 9 that constitutes the changer unit 6. Reference numeral 32 is a catching arm, which is formed so as to be openable and closable in the horizontal direction, and is provided so as to face the end of the Y carriage 9.

Reference numerals 33, 34 and 35 denote sensors, respectively, and the sensor 33 is provided on the rear side of the cassette holding portion 21.
Reference numerals 35 are provided below the cassette holder 21 on the side of the opening 24 and on the rear side, respectively. A door 36 is rotatably provided on the housing 10 near the opening 24 of the cassette holder 21. Note that the door 36 is always non-rotating due to interference with the turning end of the upper guide 22.

Reference numeral 37 denotes a link member, which is provided near the opening 24 of the cassette holding portion 21 and has a spring 26 interposed between the support shaft 3 and the support shaft 3.
It is rotatably provided via 8. And link member 3
One end of 7 forms the actuating member 31, and the other end forms the door 36 and the driving part 39 in a detachable manner.

FIG. 5 shows the cassette insertion / ejection section 5 in FIG.
FIGS. 6A and 6B are explanatory views of the main part showing the operating state of the cassette, where FIG. 7A shows the absence of a cassette, FIG. 7B shows the cassette inserted, FIG. 7C shows the cassette catching, and FIG. Parts are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 3 and 4, and in the absence of the cassette shown in FIG. 5A, the upper guide 22 is slightly rotated clockwise through the support shaft 25. The rotating end of the upper guide 22 interferes with the door 36. Therefore, the door 36 is in the non-rotating state, which prevents an undesired situation in which an undesignated cassette is inserted from the outside.

Next, in the state of FIG. 5 (b), the operating member 31 and the projection 30 are engaged with each other due to the raising of the operating member 31, and the upper guide 22 is slightly counterclockwise with respect to the support shaft 25. The rotation causes the interference between the upper guide 22 and the door 36 to be released. Therefore, the door 36 can be rotated clockwise, and the cassette 11 can be inserted into the cassette holding portion 21. Then, the cassette 11 is held at a predetermined position by the rotation of the roller 27.

Further, in the state shown in FIG. 5 (c), the cassette 11 is completely pulled into the cassette holding portion 21, the actuating member 31 via the projection portion 30, and the upper guide 22 via the support shaft 25. Since it is rotated slightly counterclockwise,
The roller 27 provided on the upper guide 22 is not engaged with the cassette 11. Therefore, the cassette 11 becomes free, and the catching arm 32 allows the cassette 11 to be pulled out from the cassette holding portion 21 in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface.

In the state shown in FIG. 5 (d), the link member 37 is rotated counterclockwise with respect to the support shaft 38 by lowering the operating member 31, so that the other end of the link member 37 serves as the door 36. By engaging the drive unit 39, rotating the door 36 clockwise, and opening the opening 24 of the cassette holding unit 21, the cassette 1 is rotated by the counterclockwise rotation of the roller 27.
1 can be discharged to the outside of the apparatus.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are flow charts showing the operation when the cassette is inserted and the cassette is ejected, respectively. The operation in the case of cassette insertion and cassette ejection will be described according to FIGS. 6 and 7 with reference to FIGS.

First, when a cassette is inserted into the apparatus, the changer unit 6 shown in FIG. 2 is moved to the cassette insertion / ejection unit 5 by receiving a cassette insertion command (41) from the external host processor in FIG. Move the Y carriage inside the changer unit 6 to the catching position (4
2) Then, the actuating member 31 and the projection 30 shown in FIG. 4 are engaged with each other, and the Y carriage 9 is slightly raised. In this state, as shown in FIG.
Is slightly higher than the upper surface of.

Next, by inserting the cassette (43), as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the cassette 11 is inserted into the cassette holding portion 21 via the opening 24. And cassette 11
When the sensor passes the sensor 34, the Y carriage δmm descends (4
By 4), the upper guide 22 rotates clockwise, the roller 27 contacts the upper surface of the cassette 11, and the cassette 11 is pressed by the roller 27 by the action of a pressing spring (not shown). Further, the motor 34 is rotated in the normal direction (45) by the signal from the sensor 34 (see FIG. 3), the motor 28 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is rotated in the normal direction, and the roller 27 is rotated clockwise through the gear train 29. 11 can be drawn into the cassette holder 21. When the cassette 11 reaches the sensor 33 provided on the inner side of the cassette holding portion 21, the motor rotation is stopped (4
6) and the rotation of the motor 28 and the roller 27 is stopped.

As described above, since the cassette 11 is completely stored and held in the cassette holding portion 21, the Y carriage δmm
Ascending (47) causes the actuating member 31 provided on the Y carriage 9 and the protrusion 30 provided on the upper guide 22.
Due to the engagement (see FIG. 4), the upper guide 22 rotates counterclockwise, and the state shown in FIG. 5C is obtained. That is, since the Y carriage 9 is at the catching position, the cassette 11 is gripped by the catching arm 32 and the Y carriage 9 is held.
(48). Then, the cassette is moved to a predetermined position (49). When the Y carriage 9 is disengaged from the cassette holding portion 21, the engagement between the operating member 31 and the projection portion 30 shown in FIG. 4 is released, so that the upper guide 22 is brought into the state shown in FIG. In addition, it is possible to prevent undesired insertion of the unspecified cassette 11 from the outside.

Next, when the cassette existing in the apparatus is discharged to the outside, the changer unit 6 (see FIG. 2) that holds the cassette to be discharged is the cassette from the external host processor in FIG. By receiving the discharge command (51), the Y carriage is moved (52) to the catching position, and the operating member 31 and the protrusion 30 shown in FIG.
The upper guide 22 is brought into the state shown in FIG. Then insert the cassette into the cassette holder (53)
As a result, the cassette 11 gripped by the catching arm 32 is inserted into the cassette holding portion 21. Then, the Y carriage δ mm descends (54), the Y carriage 9 descends, the upper guide 22 rotates, the roller 27 comes into contact with the upper surface of the cassette 11, and the pressure is applied by the action of a pressure spring (not shown). To be done. The link member 37 is rotated by the actuating member 31 to open the door 36 (see FIG. 5).
(D)).

As the Y carriage 9 descends, the motor reversely rotates (55), and the motor 2 shown in FIGS.
8 rotates in the reverse direction, and the roller 27 rotates counterclockwise via the gear train 29.
It can be discharged (56) from the outside. After the front end of the cassette 11 passes the sensor 34, the cassette 1
When the predetermined amount of 1 has been sent, the discharging work is completed, and by pulling out the cassette 11 discharged to the outside of the apparatus, the signal of the sensor 34 is switched and the motor rotation is stopped (57). At this time, the upper guide 22 is in the state shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, an 8 mm magnetic tape has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other magnetic tapes, optical tapes, magneto-optical tapes, etc. can be applied as the tape-shaped information medium. Of course.

[0036]

According to the present invention having the above-described structure and operation, the vertical movement of the carriage provided in the changer for moving or transporting the cassette and the pressing operation of the roller with respect to the cassette are interlocked. As a result, the cassette insertion / ejection portion can have a simple structure, and the entire apparatus can be inexpensive and miniaturized. Further, when the changer is not present at the predetermined position of the cassette insertion / ejection part, the door is locked so that the cassette insertion / ejection part is not inserted with an unspecified or undesired cassette. There is an effect that it can be greatly improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a tape-shaped medium autochanger device which is the object of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view of a main part configuration showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged explanatory view of a longitudinal section of a main part showing a cassette insertion / ejection portion in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a main part of an AA cross section in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a main part showing an operating state of the cassette insertion / ejection portion in FIG. 3, and FIG.
(B) shows the state of inserting the cassette, (c) shows the state of catching the cassette, and (d) shows the state of discharging the cassette.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation when a cassette is inserted.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation when a cassette is ejected.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Storage Section 3 Drive Section 5 Cassette Insertion / Discharge Section 6 Changer Section 11 Cassette 21 Cassette Holding Section 22 Upper Guide 23 Lower Guide 37 Link Member

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An accommodating portion formed to accommodate a plurality of cassettes containing a tape-shaped information medium in the same housing, and an insertable cassette into and out of the device. A cassette insertion / ejection section, a drive section formed to perform a reading / writing process on an information medium in the cassette, and a cassette provided opposite to the accommodating section, the cassette insertion / ejection section and the drive section. In a tape-shaped medium automatic changer device provided with a changer portion configured to be capable of exchanging data, and a control portion for controlling the operations of the cassette insertion / ejection portion, the drive portion and the changer portion, the cassette insertion / ejection portions are opposed to each other. A pair of upper guide and lower guide provided to form a cassette holding part with an opening facing the outside, and the upper guide is inserted through a support shaft provided on the back side thereof. The upper guide is provided with a roller formed to be rotatable so as to face the cassette holding portion, and is engaged with an operating member provided on a carriage forming the changer portion. An opening end of the cassette holding portion is provided with a detachable protrusion, and the upper guide is rotated in conjunction with the vertical movement of the carriage to selectively press the cassette through the roller. A door and a link member are provided in the vicinity of the door, and the door is always non-rotatable due to the interference with the upper guide, and the door is rotatable due to the interference of the upper guide when the cassette is inserted. Forming,
Further, the tape-shaped tape is characterized in that the link member is rotatable, one end of the link member is rotatable and the other end is engageable with and disengageable from the door, and the door is rotatable by engagement with the operating member. Medium auto changer device.