JPH07220346A - Collective magnetic tape storage - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a constitution where the next magnetic tape medium is transferred while the first magnetic tape medium is processed at a recording/ reproducing part and then the following tape medium can be immediately loaded after the preceding tape medium is processed. CONSTITUTION:A collective magnetic tape storage 1 is provided with a magnetic tape medium storing part 5 which stores the magnetic tape media in plural storing cells, a recording/reproducing part 3 which records and reproduces the magnetic tape media, a a relaying processing part 4 which is set near the part 3 and contains a stand-by cell that temporarily stores the unprocessed and processed magnetic tape media, an end cell and a tape medium loading mechanism, and a magnetic tape medium transfer mechanism 6. Then a recording/ reproducing control part 7 monitors the stand-by and end cells, transfers the next magnetic tape medium to the stand-by cell from the part 5 in a processing mode of the part 3, and immediately loads the next tape medium from the stand-by cell after the processed tape medium is stored in the end cell. The processed tape medium of the end cell is returned to its original storing cell by the mechanism 6 while the next tape medium is processed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a collective type magnetic tape storage device, and more particularly to storing a large number of exchangeable magnetic tape media in a storage cell and transferring any magnetic tape media to a recording / playback unit for recording / playback processing. The present invention relates to a collective magnetic tape storage device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional collective type magnetic tape storage device,
The magnetic tape medium is stored in a large number of storage cells provided in the magnetic tape medium storage unit, and when there is an instruction from the host device, the medium transfer mechanism is controlled from the storage cell to the magnetic tape by the software control. When the medium is taken out and transferred to the medium insertion port of the recording / reproducing unit, and when the recording or reproducing process in the recording / reproducing unit is completed, the processed magnetic tape medium ejected to the medium insertion port is transferred again by software control. The mechanism unconditionally returns to the original designated storage cell in the magnetic tape media storage.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional collective type magnetic tape storage device, when the recording / reproducing process of another magnetic tape medium is performed by the same recording / reproducing unit, the magnetic field being processed by the recording / reproducing unit. The next magnetic tape medium could not be moved until the tape medium was processed and returned to the original storage cell. That is, since the processed magnetic tape medium is restored and the next magnetic tape medium is loaded in this order by using the same medium transfer mechanism, there is a drawback that the waiting time of the recording / reproducing unit is long and the use efficiency is low. there were. Further, the further the location of the storage cell for storing the magnetic tape medium is from the recording / reproducing section, the longer it takes to transfer the magnetic tape medium. Therefore, the magnetic tape medium, which is frequently used, is stored in the location away from the recording / reproducing section. If so, there is a problem that the system performance is degraded.

An object of the present invention is to provide a collective type magnetic tape storage device which can effectively utilize the medium transfer mechanism and can significantly reduce the medium waiting time of the recording / reproducing section.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A collective magnetic tape storage device of the present invention comprises a magnetic tape medium storage unit for individually storing and storing a plurality of magnetic tape media, and a recording / reproducing process for the magnetic tape media. A recording / reproducing unit, a standby cell and an end cell installed near the recording / reproducing unit for temporarily storing the magnetic tape medium before and after processing, and the magnetic tape medium of the standby cell, respectively. A magnetic tape medium between a relay processing unit having a loading mechanism for loading the same into the end cell after processing and a designated storage cell of the magnetic tape medium storage unit and the standby cell and the end cell. And a control means for monitoring the standby cell and the end cell and controlling the medium transfer mechanism and the recording / reproducing unit in accordance with an instruction from a host device. Equipped and are configured.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the collective magnetic tape storage device 1 of this embodiment has a magnetic tape medium storage unit 5 for storing and storing the magnetic tape medium in a plurality of storage cells, and recording on the magnetic tape medium. A recording / playback unit 3 for performing playback processing;
A relay processing unit 4 installed in the vicinity thereof for temporarily storing the magnetic tape medium before and after processing, a relay processing unit 4 having an end cell and a loading mechanism for the magnetic tape medium, and an arbitrary storage cell of the magnetic tape medium storage unit 5 and a standby unit. A medium transfer mechanism 6 that conveys a magnetic tape medium between a cell and an end cell, a recording / reproduction control unit 7 that monitors the standby cell and the end cell of the relay processing unit 4 and controls the recording / reproduction unit 3, and a medium transfer mechanism. The medium transfer mechanism control unit 8 for controlling the control unit 6, the microprocessor 9, and the host device connection unit 10 for processing the interface with the host device 2.

The collective magnetic tape storage device 1 is connected to the higher-level device 2 via the higher-level device connection unit 10, and the higher-level device connection unit 10 transfers data, commands, and statuses with the higher-level device 2. Performs various interface processing required for transfer. Microprocessor 9
Controls the entire operation of the collective magnetic tape storage device 1 and performs necessary monitoring.

The recording / reproducing unit 3 is a device for reading and writing magnetic recording data to and from the magnetic tape medium, and takes in the magnetic tape medium loaded in the medium insertion port and performs a designated recording or reproducing process. After the processing, the operation of ejecting the processed magnetic tape medium to the medium insertion port is automatically performed. The recording / reproducing control unit 7 controls data transfer to the recording / reproducing unit 3, performs an operation instruction, detects an error, and the like.

The relay processing section 4 is installed in the vicinity of the recording / reproducing section 3 and stores a standby cell for temporarily storing the unprocessed magnetic tape medium and a temporarily processed magnetic tape medium. The end cell to be placed and the magnetic tape medium of the standby cell is loaded into the medium insertion port if the recording / reproducing unit 3 is not in processing operation, and the processed magnetic tape medium discharged to the medium insertion port is immediately set to the end cell. It is composed of a loading mechanism for moving.

The magnetic tape medium storage unit 5 is composed of a group of a large number of storage cells each storing and storing one magnetic tape medium, and each storage cell is provided with an identification number, that is, a cell address. It is possible to store and manage the cartridge-shaped magnetic tape medium.

The medium transfer mechanism 6 transfers the magnetic tape medium between each storage cell of the magnetic tape medium storage unit 5 and the standby cell and end cell of the relay processing unit 4. The medium transfer mechanism control unit 8 gives operation instructions and error detection.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the movement of the magnetic tape medium in this embodiment. When a processing command for the magnetic tape medium stored in the magnetic tape medium storage unit 5 is issued from the host device 2 (step 21), first, the recording / reproduction control unit 7 causes the standby tape of the relay processing unit 4 to display the magnetic tape medium. It is determined whether or not can be accommodated (step 22). If another magnetic tape medium is already stored and it is judged that the specified magnetic tape medium cannot be newly accommodated, an abnormal process is performed and the higher-level device 2 is notified and the process is terminated. Wait for the next processing instruction (step 29). On the other hand, when it is determined that the magnetic tape medium can be accommodated in the standby cell, the designated magnetic tape medium is transferred from the storage cell of the corresponding cell address in the magnetic tape medium storage unit 5 to the standby cell by the medium transfer mechanism 6 (step 23).

Subsequently, the recording / reproducing unit 3 judges whether or not the magnetic tape medium is currently being processed (step 24),
If the magnetic tape medium is removed from the recording / reproducing unit 3 after completion of the process if it is being processed, and immediately if it is not being processed, it is immediately loaded into the medium insertion port of the recording / reproducing unit 3 by the loading mechanism of the relay processing unit 4. (Step 25). The magnetic tape medium loaded in the medium insertion port is taken into the recording / reproducing unit 3 and automatically ejected to the medium insertion port after the designated recording or reproducing process is completed (step 26). The magnetic tape medium that has been ejected to the medium insertion port and has been processed is immediately moved to the end cell by the loading mechanism of the relay processing unit 4 (step 27). As a result, the recording / reproducing unit 3 can process the next magnetic tape medium, and if there is a magnetic tape medium in the standby cell of the relay processing unit 4, it can be immediately loaded into the medium insertion port by the loading mechanism. The processed magnetic tape medium transferred to the end cell of the relay processing unit 4 is returned to the original storage cell of the magnetic tape medium storage unit 5 when the medium transfer mechanism 6 is operable (step 28). All the processing for the magnetic tape medium will end.

By the above processing procedure, the magnetic tape medium to be processed next is previously transferred from the magnetic tape medium storage section 5 to the standby cell of the relay processing section 4 during the recording or reproducing processing operation of the recording / reproducing section 3. Recording / playback unit 3
Even if the medium transfer mechanism 6 cannot be used at the end of the recording / reproducing process because it is in operation for another purpose, it is possible to load the next magnetic tape medium immediately after the process and start the process.

Next, the elapsed processing time in this embodiment will be described in comparison with the case of the conventional method with reference to FIG. Figure 3
(A) and (b) have shown the time required for each process in a conventional system and a present Example, respectively.

FIG. 3A shows the progress of conventional processing time. The time Ta from the processing of the first magnetic tape medium by the recording / reproducing unit 3 until the processing of the second magnetic tape medium is started is the processing time T12 by the recording / reproducing unit 3.
And the transfer time T10, T14, T20 of the first and second magnetic tape media by the medium transfer mechanism 6 and the waiting time T0 of the medium transfer mechanism 6.

FIG. 3 (b) shows the progress of processing time when the same processing is performed with the configuration of this embodiment. If the transfer time of the magnetic tape medium by the medium transfer mechanism 6 is the same, the loading times T11 and T21 from the standby cell by the loading mechanism of the relay processing unit 4 and the moving time T13 to the end cell.
However, the transfer of the second magnetic tape medium to the standby cell and the operation of returning the first magnetic tape medium to the original storage cell can be performed at any time by using the medium transfer mechanism 6 during the recording / reproducing process. Therefore, the times T10 and T14 necessary for this purpose and the waiting time T0 of the medium transfer mechanism 6 are eliminated. Generally, the loading and transfer time T by the loading mechanism
11, T21 and T13 are shorter than the transfer times T10, T14 and T20 by the medium transfer mechanism 6, and the time Tb until the processing of the second magnetic tape medium is started is longer than the time Ta in the conventional method. It is shortened considerably.

In the above-described embodiment, there is one recording / reproducing unit in the collective magnetic tape storage device, and one relay processing unit is provided for this, and each relay processing unit has a standby cell and an end cell. The case where they are provided one by one has been described.
When a plurality of recording / reproducing units are provided in one collective magnetic tape storage device, the same effect can be expected by providing a relay processing unit for each recording / reproducing unit. It is also possible to provide a plurality of standby cells and end cells in the relay processing section, and to use them in a specified order.

[0021]

As described above, the collective magnetic tape storage device of the present invention is provided with the standby cell, the end cell and the loading mechanism in the vicinity of the recording / reproducing section for recording / reproducing the magnetic tape medium. Since the relay processing unit is provided, during the recording / reproducing process of the magnetic tape medium in the recording / reproducing unit, the magnetic tape medium to be processed next can be transferred to the standby cell by the medium transfer mechanism and made to stand by. Therefore, it becomes possible to immediately start the processing of the next magnetic tape medium in the recording / reproducing unit after the processing of one magnetic tape medium is completed, and it is possible to reduce the waiting time of the medium transfer mechanism and the time loss due to the transfer time. This makes it possible to effectively use the parts and medium transfer mechanism, shortens the data access time from the host device, and improves the system performance.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the movement of the magnetic tape medium in the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the time course of magnetic tape medium processing in comparison.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Aggregate magnetic tape storage device 2 Upper device 3 Recording / reproducing unit 4 Relay processing unit 5 Magnetic tape medium storage unit 6 Medium transfer mechanism 7 Recording / reproducing control unit 8 Medium transfer mechanism control unit 9 Microprocessor 10 Upper device connection unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A magnetic tape medium storage unit for individually storing and storing a plurality of magnetic tape media in a storage cell, a recording / reproducing unit for performing recording / reproducing processing on the magnetic tape medium, and a recording / reproducing unit installed near the recording / reproducing unit. A standby cell and an end cell for temporarily storing the magnetic tape medium before and after the processing, and a loading mechanism for loading the magnetic tape medium of the standby cell into the recording / reproducing unit and storing the magnetic tape medium in the end cell after the processing. A relay processing unit, a medium transfer mechanism for transporting a magnetic tape medium between a designated storage cell of the magnetic tape medium storage unit, the standby cell and the end cell, and the standby cell and the end cell. And a control means for controlling the medium transfer mechanism and the recording / reproducing section according to an instruction from a host device.