JPH0640434B2 - Recording medium inspection device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a recording medium inspection device for inspecting a recording medium such as a floppy disk cartridge or an optical disk cartridge.

[Prior Art] The inspection of such a recording medium is strongly requested to be automated from the viewpoints of reduction of inspection cost and improvement of inspection efficiency.

Therefore, conventionally, such a recording medium inspection apparatus records a recording medium such as supplying a recording medium to an inspection unit that records and reproduces information on the inspection medium for the inspection of the inspection apparatus and ejecting the recording medium after the inspection. It is equipped with a mechanism for automatically handling media.

Conventionally, this recording medium handling mechanism has a recording medium carrier capable of transporting the recording medium in both directions, and the recording medium carrier is commonly used for both supply and discharge of the recording medium.

[Problems to be Solved] In the recording medium inspection apparatus, supply of the recording medium to the inspection unit, ejection of the recording medium after the inspection, etc.
The efficiency of the handling of the recording medium greatly affects the efficiency of the entire recording medium inspection process.

However, in the conventional recording medium inspection device, since the recording medium is supplied and discharged by the common recording medium carrier as described above, the recording medium is inevitably supplied, the recording medium is inspected, and the recording medium is discharged. Each operation of is independently and sequentially performed. As a result, the time for supplying / discharging the recording medium is relatively long, resulting in a decrease in the efficiency of the entire inspection process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a recording medium inspection device that makes the recording medium efficient and improves the efficiency of the entire inspection process.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve this object, according to the present invention, a recording medium inspection device takes in an inspection medium from a take-in position and supplies it to an inspection unit. And a discharge carrier which is for taking in the recording medium from the inspection unit and discharging it to the discharging position, the discharging carrier being provided in a relative positional relationship that is deviated from the supply carrier by a predetermined distance in a specific direction. And a means for integrally reciprocating the supply carrier and the discharge carrier in a specific direction while maintaining the relative positional relationship, and performing a handling of the recording medium by the supply carrier and the discharge carrier in parallel. To be done.

[Operation] With such a configuration, the recording medium is specifically handled as follows, for example.

When the supply carrier and the discharge carrier are integrally moved to a certain position and stopped, the discharge carrier discharges the recording medium, and the supply carrier supplies the recording medium to the inspection unit and loads the recording medium. Be seen. On the other hand, when the supply carrier and the discharge carrier are integrally moved to some other positions and stopped, the recording medium is taken in from the inspection unit by the discharge carrier.

Alternatively, for example, the recording medium is handled as follows.

When the supply carrier and the discharge carrier are integrally moved to a certain position and stopped, respectively, the recording medium is taken in by the supply carrier, and the recording medium is taken in and discharged from the inspection unit by the discharge carrier. The recording medium is supplied to the inspection unit by the supply carrier in a state in which the carrier and the discharge carrier are integrally moved to other positions and stopped.

In this way, since the recording medium can be efficiently handled in parallel, it is possible to shorten the handling time of the recording medium and improve the efficiency of the entire inspection process.

Embodiments Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a first embodiment of a recording medium inspection apparatus according to the present invention.

In this figure, reference numeral 10 is a carry-in belt for carrying in a recording medium 12 (for example, a floppy disk cartridge, an optical disk cartridge, etc.) to be inspected.
Reference numeral 14 denotes an unloading belt for unloading the inspected recording medium 16.

Reference numeral 18 is an inspection unit for inspecting the recording medium,
Information is recorded / reproduced on / from a recording medium. Such an inspection unit 18 is similar to, for example, a drive device (drive unit) for a target recording medium.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a supply carrier for taking in the recording medium 12 carried to the taking-in position by the carry-in belt 14 and supplying it to the inspection unit 18. Inside the supply carrier 20, although not shown, a conveyance belt and a pressing roller for nipping and conveying the recording medium,
There is a pusher for pushing out the recording medium conveyed by the conveying belt and the pressing roller toward the inspection unit 18 side.

A pusher for pushing the recording medium on the conveyor belt 10 toward the supply carrier 20 side is provided to assist the feeding carrier 20 in taking in the recording medium, but it is omitted in the drawing.

Reference numeral 22 denotes an ejection carrier, which takes in the inspected recording medium from the inspection unit 18 and ejects it onto the ejection belt 14 at the ejection position. The internal structure of the discharge carrier 22 is similar to the internal structure of the supply carrier 20.

The inspection unit 18 has a built-in eject mechanism for pushing the recording medium to the outside.

The supply carrier 20 and the discharge carrier 22 are fixed to the mounting plate 24 while being vertically displaced relative to each other by a distance corresponding to the height difference between the recording medium receiving position and the recording medium discharging position.

The mounting plate 24 is guided by guide shafts 26 and 28 so as to be vertically movable. Reference numeral 30 is a rotary actuator for moving the mounting plate 24 up and down, and a member 32 is fixed to the rotary shaft thereof. A lower end portion of an arm member 34 is attached to the member 32 by a pin 36, and an upper end portion of the arm member 34 is attached to a mounting plate 24 by a pin 38.

Reference numerals 40 and 42 denote motors for driving the conveyor belts inside the discharge carrier 22 and the supply carrier 20, respectively.

The rotary actuator 30, the motors 40, 4
2, means for controlling the operation of the inspection unit 18 and the like are naturally provided, but they are omitted in the drawing. In addition, although sensors are provided for detecting an example of each part in relation to such control, they are not shown.

FIG. 2 is a time chart showing an example of the operation of this recording medium inspection apparatus. Referring to this time chart,
The operation will be described.

At this time point, the rotary actuator 30 operates so as to rotate 180 degrees, and pushes up the mounting plate 24 to the raised position (the position shown in FIG. 1) via the arm member 34. As a result, the supply carrier 20 moves to a height at which the recording medium can be taken in and supplied, and the discharge carrier 22 moves to a height at which the recording medium can be discharged.

At this point, the supply operation of the recording medium (already taken in) by the supply carrier 20 to the inspection unit 8 is started.

From the point of time, the feeding operation of the recording medium by the supply carrier 20, the discharging operation of the recording medium (the already-recorded recording medium that has already been taken in) by the discharging carrier 22, and the inspection operation by the inspection unit 18 start.

In this way, not only the operation of loading and ejecting the recording medium is performed in parallel, but also the inspection operation is partially performed in parallel. However, the start of the inspection operation may be shifted as indicated by the broken line if necessary due to the control of the recording medium handling operation or the check.

At this time point, the rotary actuator 30 operates so as to rotate 180 degrees, and the mounting plate 24 is lowered to the lowered position via the arm member 34. As a result, the ejection carrier 22 moves to a position where the recording medium can be taken in.

At the time of, the inspection unit 18 by the discharge carrier 22
The recording medium loading operation from is started. The inspection operation does not have to be completed by the time
It has only to be completed by at least some point.

The mounting plate 24 is raised again when the recording medium is taken in by the ejection carrier 22. The supply operation of the recording medium to the inspection unit 18 by the supply carrier 20 starts from the time when the ascending movement is completed.

From the next point in time, the feeding carrier 20 takes in the recording medium, the ejecting carrier 22 ejects the recording medium,
And the inspection operation by the inspection unit 18 starts.

Thereafter, the recording medium inspection process is continuously executed by repeating the same operation.

Thus, the supply carrier 20 and the discharge carrier 22
Thus, the recording medium is efficiently handled in parallel, and the inspection operation is partially performed in parallel with the handling of the recording medium. Therefore, the efficiency of the entire inspection process is significantly improved as compared with the conventional recording medium inspection device.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing a simplified device structure of a second embodiment of the recording medium inspection device according to the present invention. In this figure, the same symbols as in FIG. 1 indicate the same parts.

As is apparent from this figure, in this embodiment, the supply carrier 20, the discharge carrier 22 and the carry-in belt 10 are provided.
The vertical relationship between the carry-out belt 16 and the carry-out belt 16 is reversed. The device structure other than this is the same as that of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a time chart showing an example of the operation in this embodiment. The operation will be described with reference to this time chart.

At this point, the supply carrier 20 and the discharge carrier 22 are integrally raised to the raised position (the position shown in FIG. 3), and the discharge carrier 22 moves to a height at which the recording medium can be taken in and discharged, and is also supplied. The carrier 22 moves to a height at which the recording medium can be taken in.

At this point, the operation of taking in the recording medium by the supply carrier 20 and the operation of taking in the recording medium from the inspection unit 18 by the ejecting carrier 22 are started. In this way, the operation of taking in the recording medium by the supply carrier 18 and the operation of taking in the recording medium by the ejecting medium are performed in parallel.

The inspection operation by the inspection unit 18 is completed by the time point.

The recording medium discharging operation by the discharging carrier 22 starts from the point of.

At the time of, the supply carrier 20 and the discharge carrier 22
Are integrally lowered to the descent position. This allows
The supply carrier 20 comes to a height where the recording medium can be supplied to the inspection unit 18.

At the time of, the inspection unit 18 by the supply carrier 20
The operation of supplying the recording medium to the recording medium starts.

The inspection operation of the recording medium by the inspection unit 18 starts at the time when the supply operation of the recording medium ends.

At the time of, the supply carrier 20 and the discharge carrier 22
Is raised again. From that point in time, the feeding carrier 20 takes in and takes out the recording medium and the discharging carrier 2
The recording operation of the recording medium by 2 starts.

The inspection operation is completed by the time point.

The discharging operation of the recording medium starts from the time when the recording medium is taken in by the discharging carrier 22.

Hereinafter, by repeating the same operation, the inspection processing of the recording medium is continuously executed.

As described above, in this embodiment, unlike the above-mentioned embodiment, the handling of the recording medium and the inspection operation are not performed in parallel, but the handling of the recording medium is performed in parallel. Therefore, also according to this embodiment, the efficiency of the entire inspection processing operation can be significantly improved as compared with the conventional case.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the two embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto.

For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, the supply belt takes in the recording medium from the carry-in belt, and the discharge belt discharges the recording medium to the carry-out belt. But,
It is also possible to take the recording medium into a supply carrier from a shelf-shaped hopper capable of accommodating a large number of recording media, and similarly eject the recording medium from a discharge carrier to a shelf-shaped stacker for storage.

Further, the mechanism for integrally moving the supply carrier and the discharge carrier may be arbitrarily changed.

The present invention can be variously modified and implemented in other device configurations and operations as well without departing from the gist of the invention.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the recording medium inspection device takes in the inspection medium from the take-in position and supplies it to the inspection unit, and the inspection unit. For ejecting the recording medium from the recording medium to the ejection position, and the ejection carrier provided in a relative positional relationship that is deviated by a predetermined distance in a specific direction with respect to the feeding carrier, the feeding carrier, and the feeding carrier. And a means for integrally reciprocating the discharge carrier in a specific direction while maintaining the relative positional relationship, while supplying and discharging the supply carrier and the discharge carrier integrally in a specific direction. The carrier is configured to handle the recording medium in parallel.

Therefore, it is possible to realize a recording medium inspection device in which the handling of the recording medium is made efficient and the efficiency of the entire inspection process is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of a recording medium inspection device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a time chart showing an example of the operation of the same embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a recording medium inspection device according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing the other embodiment in a simplified manner, and FIG. 4 is a time chart showing an example of the operation of the other embodiment. 10 ... Carrying belt, 14 ... Carrying belt, 18 ... Inspection unit, 20 ... Supply carrier, 22 ... Discharge carrier, 30 ... Rotary actuator for lifting carrier.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An inspection unit for recording and reproducing information on a recording medium for inspecting the recording medium, and a supply carrier for taking in the recording medium from a take-in position and supplying it to the inspection unit. A recording medium from the inspection unit and discharging the recording medium to a discharge position, the discharge being provided in a relative positional relationship that is deviated from the supply carrier by a predetermined distance in a specific direction. A carrier and means for integrally reciprocating the supply carrier and the discharge carrier in the specific direction while maintaining the relative positional relationship, and handling of the recording medium by the supply carrier and the discharge carrier. A recording medium inspection device configured to perform steps in parallel. 2. The supply carrier and the discharge carrier are integrally moved to a certain position and stopped, respectively, and the recording medium is discharged by the discharge carrier, and the recording medium is supplied to the inspection unit by the supply carrier. The recording medium is taken in, and the recording medium is taken in from the inspection unit by the discharge carrier in a state where the supply carrier and the discharge carrier are integrally moved to some other positions and stopped. The recording medium inspection device according to claim 1, wherein 3. A recording medium is taken in by the supply carrier in a state where the supply carrier and the discharge carrier are integrally moved to a certain position and stopped, respectively.
The recording medium is taken in and discharged from the inspection unit by the discharge carrier, and the inspection by the supply carrier is performed in a state where the supply carrier and the discharge carrier are integrally moved to other positions and stopped. The recording medium inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium is supplied to the unit.