JPH07130132A - Disk device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To unnecessitate changing labels and to enhance the accuracy in medium management by sticking a repeatedly writable label on a storage medium and writing or erasing medium-management information on the label. CONSTITUTION:The storage medium 11 is loaded into the disk device 20. Then, a format command is issued by a computer 19 to a control part 13, and a magnetic head 14 is commanded by the control part 13 to execute this command. Thus, information of the medium is processed of erasing, etc. Then, a moving mode of a thermal printer head 16 is changed to an erasing mode by the control part 13. Then, the head 16 is started to erase the label. Then, upon completion of erasing medium management information of the label, medium management information of the medium 11 is read out to be temporarily stored in a memory part 23. Then, the head 16 is commanded by the control part 13 to write the medium management information on the label. Then, the medium management information is written on the label by the head 16.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a disk device for printing medium management information on a rewritable label attached to a storage medium composed of a magneto-optical disk or a flexible disk. Since paper was used for the label of information for managing the magneto-optical disk and the flexible disk, it was necessary to replace the content if the content of the disk was rewritten once it was written. Usually, it was handwritten, and only information that was unlikely to be updated was written, so it was not possible to write information such as the last updated date and file size.

For this reason, there has been proposed a disk device which automatically writes information on a label. In such a disk device, it is desirable that information can be erased as well as written.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional disk device with a printer, there are those shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, for example. In FIG. 8, a motor 1 for rotating a flexible disk 6, a magnetic head 2 for reading and writing on the flexible disk 6, a printer section 3 for printing identification information, and a connector 5 are connected to a control section 4, respectively. The control unit 4 is connected to a computer, which is an external device, and exchanges control signals and information from the computer.

The control unit 4 controls the motor 1 and the magnetic head 2 according to a control signal input from the connector 5 to read / write magnetic information from / to the flexible disk 6, and at the same time to control the printer unit 3 to control the flexible disk 6.
The identification information is printed on the paper label area. here,
As shown in FIG. 9, the printer unit 3 is located above the paper label area 7 and moves in the printing direction to print characters. The identification information to be printed is input as an information signal from an external computer, and the control unit 4 causes the printer unit 3 to print.
Be transmitted to.

In this conventional example, a printer unit 3 for printing a paper label and a control unit 4 for transmitting the movement of the printer unit 3 and print information are added to the flexible disk device, so that the paper label is read and written at the same time. Can be printed on. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a discrepancy between the content of the magnetic disk information and the content of the paper label, which may occur when the user writes by hand. Further, it is not necessary for the user to write the identification information on the paper label and attach it to the flexible disk 6.

[0006]

However, in such a conventional disk device, although the identification information can be written on the paper label, it cannot be erased and written again. That is, since the paper label cannot repeatedly write information, the paper label has to be switched every time it is updated, and the accuracy of medium management is poor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and the medium management information is written or erased by using a rewritable label repeatedly, so that the label It is an object of the present invention to improve the accuracy of medium management by requiring no replacement and automatically displaying the latest medium management information every update.

[0008]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention. The present invention includes a printer that writes and erases medium management information on a label that is attached to a storage medium and that can be repeatedly written, and a control unit that drives and controls the printer and controls writing and erasing of the medium management information. And

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the control means reads the medium management information from the storage medium and outputs it to the printer. Further, the present invention is characterized in that the control means changes a driving speed at the time of erasing and writing of the medium management information. Further, the present invention is characterized in that a processing means for creating information that needs to be processed in a graphical usage situation out of the medium management information is provided in the control means or a computer connected to the disk device.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the printer has a thermal printer head. Further, the present invention is characterized in that heat radiating means for radiating heat to the outside of the apparatus is provided around the thermal printer head. Further, the present invention is characterized in that the label is provided with an organic compound having a property of producing a color when momentary heat is applied and repeating a color disappearance when heated for a certain period of time.

[0011]

According to the disk device of the present invention having such a configuration, the printer 16 is configured so that the label which can be repeatedly written is attached to the storage medium 11 and the printer 16 writes or erases the medium management information on the label 21. Since it is controlled, it is not necessary to replace the label 21 each time the storage medium 11 is updated, and the latest medium management information can be automatically displayed for each update. As a result, the accuracy of managing the medium can be improved.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 2 to 7 are views showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a disk device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, 11 is a storage medium,
The storage medium 11 is rotationally driven by a motor 12, and the motor 12 is controlled by a control unit 13 as a control means.
As the storage medium 11, a magneto-optical disk or a flexible disk (floppy) having a large storage capacity is used.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a read / write magnetic head. The magnetic head 14 writes information in the storage medium 11 and reads information from the storage medium 11. The magnetic head 14 is connected to a first driving unit 15 composed of a servo motor and is driven by the first driving unit 15. First drive unit 1
5 is connected to the control unit 13 and controlled by the control unit 13.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a thermal printer head as a printer. The thermal printer head 16 writes and erases medium management information on a rewritable label attached on the storage medium 11. The thermal printer head 16 has a second small servo motor.
It is driven by the drive unit 17, and the second drive unit 17 is controlled by the control unit 13.

The control unit 13 is connected to a computer 19, which is an external device, via a connector 18, and the computer 1
Controlled by 9. Reference numeral 20 represents a disk device. As shown in FIG. 3, the thermal printer head 16 is located on the label 21 attached to the storage medium 11, moves in the printing direction, and prints the medium management information.

That is, since the position of the label 21 on the storage medium 11 does not overlap the magnetic head 14 for reading and writing, the thermal printer head 16 can be and is incorporated in the disk device 20. The thermal printer head 16 thus written writes the medium management information on the label 21 and erases it. As the thermal printer head 16, one that covers the entire line of the label 21 is used so that erasing can be performed efficiently.

In FIG. 2, the thermal printer head 1
In the vicinity of 6, the influence of the heating at the time of erasing is exerted on the disk device 20.
As a heat radiating means, a metal fitting 22 for releasing heat is attached so as not to affect the inside. The holding metal fitting 22 also has a function of preventing the label 21 from being lifted up and giving an obstacle to printing. Reference numeral 23 denotes a memory unit connected to the control unit 13. The memory unit 23 stores the medium management information read from the storage medium 11, and also stores the processed medium management information.

The label 21 has a glue surface 2 as shown in FIG.
4, a base material 25, and a heat-sensitive surface 26. The adhesive surface 24 of the label 21 is one having sufficient heat resistance, and the base material 25
Is made of a material having a good thermal conductivity, and the heat-sensitive surface 26 is made of an organic compound having a property of developing a color when momentary heat is applied and repeatedly disappearing when heated for a certain period of time. The medium management information written on the label 21 includes, for example, (1) empty capacity and written capacity (2) format format of written information (3) label name and directory name (4) user name and user Use range etc.

As the medium management information, general characters or bar codes are used. General characters are used with emphasis on being readable by human eyes, and bar codes are used with emphasis on being read by a reader. A two-dimensional barcode having a large capacity may be used as the barcode. Next, FIG. 5 shows an internal configuration example of the control unit 13.
In FIG. 5, reference numeral 27 is a motor control unit, and the motor control unit 27 controls the motor 12 and the rotation of the storage medium 11. Reference numeral 28 denotes a first drive control unit, and the first drive control unit 28 controls the first drive unit 15 to control the drive of the write / read magnetic head 14.

Reference numeral 29 denotes a second drive control section, which controls the second drive section 17 to control writing and erasing of the thermal printer head 16. Also, the second
The drive control unit 29 uses the second drive unit 17 for erasing and writing.
Control to change the drive speed of. Reference numeral 30 denotes a storage medium writing / reading control unit, and the storage medium writing / reading control unit 30 controls writing of information to the storage medium 11 and reading of information from the storage medium 11.

Reference numeral 31 denotes a management information read control unit, which reads the medium management information from the storage medium 11, temporarily stores it in the memory unit 23, and then displays it on the label 21. The medium management information is transmitted to the computer 19. When the computer 19 receives the medium management information, it processes the medium management information for display on the label 21, and then returns the processed medium management information to the control unit 13. The processed medium management information returned to the control unit 13 is temporarily stored in the memory unit 23 and then output to the thermal printer head 16.

Reference numeral 32 is a label writing control unit, and the label writing control unit 32 changes the thermal printer head 16 from the moving mode to the writing mode in response to a command from the computer 19. 33 is a label erasure control unit,
The label erasing control unit 33 changes the thermal printer head 16 from the moving mode to the erasing mode in response to a command from the computer 19. It should be noted that the computer 19 is provided with a processing unit 34 as a heating means, and the processing unit 34 creates information that needs to be processed in a graphical usage situation in the medium management information. The processing unit 34 is provided in the computer 19 here, but may be provided in the control unit 13. Further, although the computer 19 processes the sent medium management information for display on the label 21, this process may be performed by the control unit 13.

Reference numeral 35 denotes a take-out request discriminating unit, and the take-out request discriminating unit 35 discriminates whether or not there is a request for taking out the storage medium 11 from the disk device 20. next,
The operation will be described. FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the process when the storage medium 11 is formatted, and FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the process when the information is written and erased in the storage medium 11.

In FIG. 6, first, in step S1, the storage medium 11 is attached to the disk device 20. Next, the format command is executed in step S2. That is,
The computer 19 sends the format command to the control unit 13
The control unit 13 receives the format command and instructs the magnetic head 14 to execute. As a result, the information in the storage medium 11 is subjected to processing such as erasing.

Next, in step S3, the controller 13 sets the movement mode of the thermal printer head 16 to the erase mode. That is, the label erasing control unit 33 of the control unit 13 gives an erasing command to the thermal printer head 16. next,
In step S4, the thermal printer head 16 sets the label 2
Erase 1 is started. When the thermal surface 26 of the label is heated by the thermal printer head 16 for a certain period of time, the information on the label 21 is erased. This is because the label 21 is coated with an organic compound that develops color when heated instantaneously and disappears when heated for a certain period of time. Do not affect the inside of the disk device 20 by heating during this erasing,
Heat is dissipated by a holding metal fitting 22 provided around the thermal head 16.

To erase the medium management information of the label 21,
It proceeds at the same time as the format of the storage medium 11. When erasing the medium management information of the label 21 is completed in step 5, it is determined in step S6 whether or not the formatting of the storage medium 11 is completed. When the formatting of the storage medium 11 is completed, the medium management information of the storage medium 11 is read in step S7.

That is, the management information read control unit 31 reads the medium management information of the storage medium 11 and temporarily stores it in the memory unit 23. Next, in step S8, the movement mode of the thermal printer head 16 is set to the writing mode. That is, the label writing control unit 32 instructs the thermal printer head 16 to write the medium management information on the label 21.

Next, in step S9, the thermal printer head 16 writes the medium management information on the label 21. Next, in step S10, it is determined whether or not there is a request to take out the storage medium 11. The take-out request determination unit 35 determines a take-out request for the storage medium 11 from the disk device 20, and at the time of take-out, the storage medium 11 is removed from the disk device 20 in step S11. In this state, the medium management information such as the total free space is written in the label 21.

When there is no request to take out the storage medium 11 and when a formatted storage medium is loaded, the process moves to the flowchart of A of FIG. In FIG. 7, it is determined whether or not the storage medium 11 has been written or erased in step S21. If not, step S32
If it is performed, the process proceeds to step S22.

In step S22, the moving mode of the thermal printer head 16 is set to the erase mode. That is, the label erasing control unit 33 gives an erasing command to the thermal printer head 16. Next, in step S23, the thermal printer head 16 starts erasing the update area of the label 21. Here, instead of erasing the entire surface of the label 21, the update area of the label 21 is erased for the portion written in the storage medium 11 or the erased portion. That is, the heat-sensitive surface 26 of the label 21 is heated by the thermal printer head 16 to erase the updated area. The actual update is performed once or more between the start of erasing and the end of erasing.

After erasing the update area of the label 21 in step S24, it is determined in step S25 whether or not there is a request to take out the storage medium 11. Here, writing is performed only when there is a request to take out the storage medium 11 after erasing. When the removal request determination unit 35 determines the removal request for the storage medium 11, the medium management information to be written in the label 21 is read from the storage medium 11 in step S26.

The read medium management information is stored in the memory unit 23.
After being temporarily stored in the computer, the data is sent to the computer 19, and the computer 19 performs processing for displaying on the label 21. In this case, when processing such as a graphical use state is required in step S27, the computer 19 performs processing to create medium management information, and in step S28 the medium management information is transferred to the computer 19 to the control unit 13.

Next, in step S29, the write controller 3
2 sets the movement mode of the thermal printer head 16 to the writing mode. Next, in step S30, the thermal printer head 16 writes the medium management information in the update area of the label 21, and in step S31, the storage medium 11 is removed from the disk device 20.

If writing or erasing of the storage medium 11 is not performed and there is a request for taking out the label, rewriting of the label is unnecessary. Therefore, in step S32, it is judged whether or not there is a request for taking out the storage medium 11, and there is no request. when,
Returning to step S21, if there is a request, step S
Proceeding to 33, the storage medium 11 is removed from the disk device 20.

Since the medium management information is written or erased by using the rewritable label 21 as described above, it is not necessary to replace the label and the latest management information can be displayed and the accuracy of medium management can be improved. Can be improved.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, a label that can be repeatedly written is attached to a storage medium, and the medium management information is written or erased on the label, so there is no need to replace the label. The latest medium management information can be displayed. As a result, the accuracy of medium management can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation of a thermal printer head.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing labels

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an internal configuration of a control unit.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of formatting.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation in normal time.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a conventional example.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an operation of a printing unit of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11: storage medium 12: motor 13: control unit (control means) 14: magnetic head 15: first drive unit 16: thermal printer head (printer) 17: second drive unit 18: connector 19: computer 20: disk device 21 : Label 22: Pressing metal fitting (heat dissipation means) 23: Memory part 24: Adhesive surface 25: Base material 26: Thermal surface 27: Motor control part 28: First drive control part 29: Second drive control part 30: Storage medium writing Read control unit 31: management information read control unit 32: label writing control unit 33: label erasing control unit 34: processing unit (processing means) 35: removal request determination unit

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A printer (16) for writing and erasing medium management information on a label (21) attached to a storage medium (11), which can be repeatedly written, and a drive control of the printer (16) and writing of medium management information. A disk device comprising a control means (13) for controlling erasing and erasing. 2. The disk device according to claim 1, wherein said control means (13) reads said medium management information from said storage medium (11) and outputs it to said printer (16). 3. The disk device according to claim 1, wherein said control means (13) changes a drive speed at the time of erasing and writing of said medium management information. 4. A processing means (34) for creating information that needs to be processed in a graphical usage situation out of the medium management information.
2. The control means (13) is provided in the computer connected to the disk device.
Disk device. 5. A disk drive according to claim 1, wherein said printer (16) has a thermal printer head. 6. A disk device according to claim 5, further comprising heat radiating means for radiating heat to the outside of the apparatus around the thermal printer head. 7. The disk according to claim 1, wherein the label (21) is provided with an organic compound having a property of producing color when heat is applied momentarily and repeating disappearance of color when heated for a certain period of time. apparatus.