JPH08235753A - Recording medium control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To check a mounting state of a storage medium in a short period of time in an automatic changer. CONSTITUTION: A control label 14 is stuck on the front surface of the case of a magnetooptical disk(MOD) 12 housed in each slot of a shelf 64 in an automatic changer 140 and a label reader 100 is mounted on a transporting arm 162 for transporting the MOD 12. By moving the transproting arm 162 to each slot, the control label stuck to the MOD housed in each slot is read out by means of a label reader 100. Consequently, a housing position of each MOD in the automatic changer i.e., a mounting state is checked. The mounting state is collated with a mounting control table stored in a prescribed memory and a matching between the mounting state and the mounting control table is checked. If both mounting states are unwatched, the compatibility between the mounting state and the mounting control table is maintained by correcting the mounting control table.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention stores a large number of storage media such as a magneto-optical disk, and stores the storage media in an autochanger in which any storage media can be taken out and accessed. The present invention relates to a medium management device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a storage medium for storing a large amount of data such as image data, a magneto-optical disk (hereinafter referred to as "MOD") having a large storage capacity is used. However, since the amount of image data is enormous, many images cannot be stored with only one MOD. Therefore, if you want to save many images, you should have a shelf that can store a large number of MODs and automatically set the one specified by an external command in the access drive to read or write data. An autochanger capable of This autochanger is used not only for storing images but also as an external storage device or backup storage device of various computers.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a data processing system using the above autochanger. In this data processing system, the autochanger 40 is controlled by a workstation as a host computer. This workstation is the workstation body 3
0, a display 10, and a keyboard 20. The autochanger 40 is connected to the workstation body 30 by a SCSI bus 54 as shown in FIG. Inside the autochanger 40, a drive controller 42 that controls the MOD drive 66, and
A mechanism controller 46 that controls the changer mechanism 48 such as a transfer arm is connected by a SCSI bus, and a terminator 56 is connected to the end of the SCSI bus. Inside the workstation body 30,
SCSI interface 34 for autochanger 40
In addition, the SCSI interface 36 for the system disk device 38 of the workstation itself and the like are connected to the system bus 52.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing the autochanger 40. The autochanger 40 is provided with n slots (hereinafter, these slots are referred to as “slot # 1, slot # 2, ..., Slot #n”) for storing the magneto-optical disk (MOD) 12. A shelf 64, a drive 66 for reading / writing data from / to the MOD, and a transport arm 62 for transporting the MOD between each slot of the shelf 64 and the drive 66.

When using the autochanger, it is necessary to know the mounting state of the MOD, which slot is stored in which slot of the autochanger. For this reason, normally, a mounting management table showing the correspondence between each slot of the autochanger and the MOD stored in each slot is stored in the memory of the host computer. In some cases, the mounting management table is stored in the memory inside the autochanger, and the mounting state of the MOD is managed inside the autochanger.

FIG. 8A shows an example of the mounting management table. In this example, each MOD is identified by a management number, and in the mounting management table, the correspondence between each slot on the shelf in the autochanger and the MOD stored therein is indicated by the slot number and the management number. Also,
In this mounting management table, the management number for the slot in which the MOD is not stored is set to 0. In addition,
In this example, the MOD and the volume have a one-to-one correspondence, and the volume name corresponding to the MOD stored in each slot is also shown in the mounting management table together with the management number. With such a mounting management table, it is possible to know the slot in which each MOD is stored, that is, the storage position.

However, the storage position of each MOD shown in the mounting management table and the actual storage position may not match due to human error or the like. For example, after the power is turned off for maintenance of the system, a slot where the MOD is stored may be swapped due to a human error. FIG. 8B shows an example of the mounted state of the autochanger in such a case. In this example,
The MOD that should originally be stored in slot # 3 is slot #
MO that should be stored in slot 4 and originally stored in slot # 4
Since D is stored in the slot # 3, the actual storage position of the MOD does not match the storage position shown in the mounting management table of FIG. 8A. Further, when a failure occurs in the host computer, the data in the mounting management table stored in the internal memory may be destroyed.

In the above case, when the MOD stored in the slot is subsequently accessed, the MOD different from the operator's intention is inserted into the drive. In this case, the MOD shown in the implementation management table is not read until the header information stored in the MOD is read.
It will be apparent that the storage position of is different from the actual storage position. Then, after that, the mounting management table is corrected. Since it takes a long time to modify the mounting management table, the original work is significantly delayed.

Usually, in order to prevent the above-mentioned troubles in advance, the data processing system using the autochanger is automatically set at the start of work after the power is turned on, or is fixed during the operation of the system. The header information of each MOD is read periodically at time intervals of, and the management number of the MOD stored in each slot is checked. As a result, the actual mounting state on the shelf of the autochanger is grasped, and the mounting management table is corrected so as to match this mounting state. Hereinafter, the operation for matching the mounting state of the MOD and the mounting management table in the autochanger 40 shown in FIG. 7 (hereinafter referred to as “consistency maintenance operation”)
Will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

When the power of the data processing system using the autochanger 40 is turned on (step S10),
Initialize variable i indicating slot number (step S12)
After that, while increasing the value of the variable i by 1, the following processing is repeated until i> n (steps S14 to S3).
2).

First, the transfer arm 62 is moved to the slot #i (step S18), and the MOD is transferred from the slot #i.
Is taken out (step S20). Next, the MO taken out
D is carried by the carrying arm 62 to the drive 66 and inserted therein. The drive 66 reads the header information of the inserted MOD (step S24), and the CPU 32 of the workstation body 30 uses the management number included in the header information and the management number associated with the slot number i in the mounting management table. Are collated (step S26). If the management numbers do not match as a result of this collation, the management number associated with the slot number i in the mounting management table is corrected to the management number included in the header information, and then inserted into the drive 66. MOD for carrying arm 62
To return to slot #i (step S32). If the management numbers match as a result of the collation, the MOD inserted in the drive 66 is returned to the slot #i without modifying the mounting management table (step S32).

The above process (steps S18 to S32) is i
When it is repeated until> n, the consistency maintaining operation ends (step S16). As described above, the mounting states of all the slots are grasped, and the mounting management table is modified based on the mounting states. For example, when the internal state of the autochanger 40 becomes as shown in FIG. 8B due to the above-mentioned human error, the mounting management table is corrected as shown in FIG. 8C by the consistency maintaining operation. It

In the above consistency maintaining operation, it is assumed that MODs are stored in all slots.
If there is a slot in which D is not stored, steps S20 to S24 are not necessary for such a slot, and thus step S18 is performed and then step S18 is performed.
You may proceed to 26.

[0014]

When modifying the mounting management table in a data processing system using an autochanger, the consistency between the MOD mounting state and the mounting management table in the autochanger is checked. In order to perform this consistency check, the mounting state of the MOD in the autochanger must be checked for all slots. Therefore, in the conventional data processing system, the MODs stored in the respective slots are inserted into the drive 66 one by one, and the MOD header information is read out. Therefore, when the number of MODs stored in the autochanger 40 is large, it takes an extremely long time to check the mounting state of the MOD, and as a result, the consistency between the mounting state of the MOD and the mounting management table can be improved. Checking also requires an extremely long time.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object thereof is to check the consistency between the mounting state of a storage medium such as a MOD and the mounting management table in an autochanger. It is an object of the present invention to provide a storage medium management device capable of checking the mounting state of each storage medium in a short time in such a case.

[0016]

According to the first storage medium management apparatus of the present invention, which has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems,
A shelf provided with a plurality of slots for storing the storage medium, a drive for receiving the storage medium and accessing the storage medium, and a transport arm for transporting the storage medium between each slot of the shelf and the drive. A storage medium management device for managing the mounting state of a storage medium in an equipped autochanger, comprising: a) information holding means attached to the outer surface of the storage medium for holding identification information of the storage medium; and b) in each slot of the shelf. And a reading unit that reads the identification information held by the information holding unit attached to the stored storage medium.

In a second storage medium management apparatus according to the present invention, in the first storage medium management apparatus, the mounting state of the storage medium is stored in each slot of the shelf and the storage medium stored in each slot. A collating means for collating the mounting state indicated by the mounting management table with the mounting state managed by the mounting management table indicating the correspondence of the identification information by the reading means,
It is characterized by further provision.

In a third storage medium management apparatus according to the present invention, in the second storage medium management apparatus, if there is a mismatch between the two mounting states as a result of the collation by the collating means, the reading is performed. It is characterized by further comprising modifying means for modifying the mounting management table based on the identification information read by the means.

In a fourth storage medium management apparatus according to the present invention, in any one of the first to third storage medium management apparatuses, the reading means is a transfer arm of the autochanger. It is characterized by moving to each slot of the shelf and reading the identification information held by the information holding means attached to the storage medium stored in each slot.

In a fifth storage medium management apparatus according to the present invention, in the fourth storage medium management apparatus, the reading means reads the identification information while the drive of the autochanger is accessing the storage medium. It is characterized by that.

[0021]

According to the first storage medium management device, the storage medium stored in the autochanger is provided with the information holding means for holding the identification information of the storage medium. The information holding means is attached to the outer surface of the storage medium, and the identification information is read by the reading means from the storage medium stored in the slot. By reading this identification information, which storage medium is stored in which slot is known. That is, the mounting state of the storage medium in the autochanger can be grasped without accessing the data stored in the storage medium.

According to the second storage medium management apparatus, the mounting state of the storage medium is managed by the mounting management table. And
The mounting state of the storage medium in the autochanger is ascertained in the same manner as the first storage medium management device, and the mounting state is collated by the collating means with the mounting state shown in the mounting management table. Thereby, the consistency between the actual mounting state of the storage medium and the mounting management table is checked without accessing the data stored in the storage medium.

According to the third storage medium management apparatus, the actual mounting state of the storage medium and the mounting state indicated by the mounting management table are collated in the same manner as the second storage medium management apparatus. As a result of this collation, if the two mounting states do not match, the mounting management table is corrected based on the identification information read by the reading means. This eliminates the discrepancy between the actual mounting state of the storage medium and the mounting state indicated by the mounting management table.

According to the fourth storage medium management apparatus, when checking the mounting state of the storage medium, the reading means moves to each slot by the carrying arm and reads the identification information of the storage medium stored in each slot. .

According to the fifth storage medium management device, while the drive of the autochanger is accessing the storage medium, the reading means is moved to each slot by the carrying arm and the storage medium stored in each slot is read. Read the identification information. This allows the mounting state of the storage medium to be ascertained while the drive is accessing the storage medium.

[0026]

【Example】

[Structure of Embodiment] The MOD which is an embodiment of the present invention will be described below.
The management device will be described. This MOD management device is realized as a part of a data processing system using an autochanger, and the basic configuration of this data processing system is the same as the above-described data processing system shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the autochanger 140 targeted by the MOD management apparatus is connected to the workstation main body 30 and the SCSI bus 54 as in the conventional example. Even inside the autochanger 140,
Similar to the conventional example, the drive controller 42 that controls the drive 66 and the mechanism controller 146 that controls the changer mechanism 48 are connected by the SCSI bus 54, and the terminator 56 is connected to the end of the SCSI bus 54.
Is connected, but is different from the conventional example in that the label reader 100 controlled by the mechanism controller 146 is provided. The workstation body 30
Since the internal hardware configuration is the same as that of the conventional example, the description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an autochanger 140 targeted by the MOD management apparatus. This autochanger 140 is similar to the conventional example shown in FIG. 7, and has a shelf 64 provided with n slots, a drive 66, and
The transfer arm 162 is provided with the transfer arm 162.
2 is different from the conventional example in that the above label reader 100 is attached. Also, this auto changer 14
A management label 14 is attached to the front surface of the case of each magneto-optical disk (MOD) 12 stored at 0. A management number for identifying the MOD is displayed on the management label 14 as a bar code, and the bar code is optically read by the label reader 100.

CPU 32 of the workstation body 30
A mounting management table is stored in the internal memory. This mounting management table has the same configuration as the conventional example, and shows the correspondence between each slot and the MOD stored in each slot by the slot number and the management number. FIG. 4A shows an example of this mounting management table, which corresponds to the mounting state of the autochanger 140 shown in FIG. 4B.

The CPU 32 operates based on a predetermined program stored in its internal memory to operate the changer mechanism section 48 and the label reader 100 via the mechanism section controller 146. As a result, the management label 14 attached to the MOD stored in each slot is read to check the consistency between the mounting state of the MOD in the autochanger 140 and the mounting management table, and the mounting management table is checked based on the check result. To fix. Hereinafter, details of the operation (consistency maintaining operation) for matching the mounting state of the MOD and the mounting management table in the autochanger 140 in this manner will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[Consistency maintaining operation in the embodiment] When the power of the data processing system using the autochanger 140 is turned on (step S50), the variable i indicating the slot number is initialized (step S52), and then the variable i. While increasing the value of 1 by 1, the following processing is repeated until i> n (steps S54 to S66).

First, the transfer arm 162 is set to the slot #i.
To (step S58), and the bar code of the management label attached to the MOD stored in the slot #i is read by the label reader 100 attached to the carrying arm 162 (step S60). here,
Since the management label is attached to the front surface of the MOD case, the barcode of the management label can be read without taking out the MOD from the slot #i. Next, the CPU 32 of the workstation body 30 collates the management number indicated by the read barcode with the management number associated with the slot number i in the mounting management table (step S62). If the management numbers do not match as a result of this collation, the management number associated with the slot number i in the mounting management table is corrected to the management number indicated by the bar code (step S66).
If the management numbers match as a result of collation, the implementation management table is not modified.

The above processing (steps S58 to S66) is i.
When it is repeated until> n, the consistency maintaining operation ends (step S56). As described above, the mounting states of all the slots are grasped, and the mounting management table is modified based on the mounting states.

[Effects of Embodiment] According to the conventional consistency maintaining operation shown in FIG. 9, the following operation sequence is required to check the management number of one MOD. (1) Move the transfer arm to the slot (2) Take out the MOD from the slot (3) Insert the MOD into the drive (4) Rotate the MOD (5) Read the information of the header part (6) Rotate the MOD (7) Remove the MOD from the drive (8) Return the MOD to the slot (9) Move the transfer arm to the home position Time required for the above sequence, that is, the time required to check the control number of one MOD Is 1 in the above-mentioned conventional example.
It was 5 seconds. Therefore, for example, in the case of an autochanger that stores 56 MODs, it takes 15 × 56 = 840 [sec] to grasp the mounting state of the MOD.

On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to insert the MOD into the drive 66 one by one in the consistency maintaining operation and check the management number written in the header portion. That is, in the above sequence (2)
The sequence of (8) to (8) is unnecessary, and the time required to check the management number of one MOD is 2 seconds. Therefore, taking the above-mentioned autochanger that stores 56 MODs as an example, the time required to grasp the mounting state of the MOD is 2 × 56 = 112 [seconds], which is significantly shorter than the conventional one. . As a result, the time required for the consistency maintaining operation for matching the mounting state of the MOD and the mounting management table in the autochanger is also greatly reduced.

The configuration of this embodiment is also effective when a new mounting management table is created for an autochanger whose MOD mounting state is unknown, and the time required to create the mounting management table can be greatly reduced. it can.

[Modification] Generally, in the auto changer,
While the MOD is inserted in the drive and the read / write access is being performed to the MOD, the transfer arm is normally retracted to the home position. Therefore, in the above-described embodiment, the transport arm 162 is moved to each slot while the MOD is being read / written, and the slot is read by the label reader 100 attached to the transport arm 162. It is preferable to read the management label of the MOD stored in. By doing this, the MOD in the autochanger 140
It is possible to monitor the mounting state of the MOD almost constantly without requiring additional time for grasping the mounting state of the MOD. Conventionally, the difference between the actual storage location of the MOD and the storage location of the MOD shown in the mounting management table is that the MOD is normally inserted into the drive 66 and the management number written in the header of the MOD is checked. Only then will it be revealed. However, by constantly monitoring the mounting state of the MOD as described above, it is possible to detect an error in the storage position of the MOD before the MOD different from the operator's intention is taken out from the slot and inserted into the drive 66. it can.
This prevents an erroneous access operation to the MOD from occurring.

Further, in the above embodiment, when the actual storage position of the MOD and the storage position shown in the mounting management table are different, the mounting management table is corrected to eliminate this difference. However (steps S62 to S66), in addition to the correction of the mounting management table, a warning may be issued by sound or display. Further, in that case, a configuration may be adopted in which a warning is issued without modifying the mounting management table, and the operator is informed of the slot number in which the MOD having a management number different from the management number shown in the mounting management table is stored. Good. In this configuration, when a warning is issued, the operator replaces the storage position of the MOD based on the slot number notified with the warning, so that the actual mounting state of the MOD and the mounting management table are matched. Become.

In the above embodiment, the label reader 10 is used.
0 is attached to the transport arm 162, and the transport arm 162 moves to the slot when the MOD management label 14 stored in the slot is read. May be provided separately from the transfer arm 162. The moving means of the label reader 100 may be provided inside the shelf 64 instead of outside the shelf 64. When the means for moving the label reader 100 is provided inside the shelf 64, the management label 1
4 is attached not to the front surface of the MOD case but to the side surface of the MOD case, for example. Further, the label reader 100 may be attached to each of the slots on the shelf 64 without providing the moving means of the label reader 100.

Further, in the above embodiment, the label reader 10
0 is the MOD identified by optically reading the bar code of the management label 14 attached to the front of the MOD case. However, the MOD identification method is not limited to this, and the MOD is stored in the slot. Other methods may be adopted as long as the identification information such as the management number can be read from the MOD. For example, a magnetic head may be provided instead of the optical label reader 100, a magnetic stripe storing the management number of the MOD may be attached to the front surface of the MOD case, and the magnetic head may read the magnetic stripe.

Further, although the above embodiment is directed to the autochanger for storing the MOD, the same configuration as that of the above embodiment is applied to the autochanger for storing the storage medium such as 8 mm tape or digital audio tape (DAT). , A similar effect can be obtained.

[0042]

According to the present invention, the operation of inserting the storage medium into the drive and accessing the storage medium by reading the identification information in the information holding means attached to the storage medium stored in each slot. It is possible to identify the storage medium stored in each slot without requiring. Therefore, the time required to check the mounting state of each storage medium in the autochanger is significantly shortened compared to the conventional time.

According to the second storage medium management apparatus of the present invention, the mounting state of each storage medium is checked in a short time as described above, and the mounting state is shown in the mounting management table. It is checked against the mounting status. Therefore, the time required to check the consistency between the mounting state of each storage medium and the mounting management table in the autochanger is significantly shortened compared to the conventional time.

Further, according to the third storage medium management apparatus of the present invention, the consistency between the actual mounting state of each storage medium in the autochanger and the mounting management table is checked in a short time as described above, If there is a mismatch between the two mounting states, the mismatch is resolved by modifying the mounting management table. As a result, the time required for the operation for maintaining the consistency between the actual mounting state of the storage medium and the mounting management table is significantly reduced as compared with the conventional case.

Further, according to the fourth storage medium management apparatus of the present invention, since the reading means for the identification information is moved by the carrying arm, there is no need to separately provide means for moving the reading means to each slot. The storage medium stored in each slot can be identified.

According to the fifth storage medium management apparatus of the present invention, the carrying arm is used when the identification information is read, but the identification is performed while the drive is accessing the storage medium. Since the information is read, no additional time is required to check the mounting state of the storage medium in the autochanger. In addition, it becomes possible to monitor the mounting state of the storage medium almost constantly, which allows the storage medium to be checked for errors in its storage position before it is removed from the slot and inserted into the drive. Can be found. As a result, an erroneous access operation to the MOD is prevented in advance.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an autochanger targeted by a MOD management device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of hardware that implements the MOD management device of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the consistency maintaining operation of the present embodiment for matching the MOD mounting state with the mounting management table.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an implementation management table in the embodiment (a),
FIG. 3B is a view showing the mounting state of the autochanger corresponding to the mounting management table.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a data processing system using an autochanger.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of hardware that realizes a conventional MOD management device.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a conventional auto changer.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining correction of the mounting management table by the MOD management device.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a conventional consistency maintaining operation for matching the MOD mounting state with the mounting management table.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12 ... Magneto-optical disk (MOD) 14 ... Management label 30 ... Workstation main body 32 ... CPU 64 ... Shelf 66 ... Drive 100 ... Label reader 140 ... Autochanger 146 ... Mechanism controller 162 ... Conveying arm

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A shelf provided with a plurality of slots for storing a storage medium, a drive for receiving the storage medium and accessing the storage medium, and carrying the storage medium between each slot of the shelf and the drive. A storage medium management device for managing the mounting state of a storage medium in an autochanger equipped with a transport arm for: a) information holding means attached to the outer surface of the storage medium, for holding identification information of the storage medium; A storage medium management device, comprising: a reading unit that reads identification information held by an information holding unit attached to a storage medium stored in each slot of the shelf. 2. The storage medium management device according to claim 1, wherein the mounting state of the storage medium is managed by a mounting management table showing correspondence between each slot of the shelf and the storage medium stored in each slot. The storage medium management apparatus further comprises a collating unit that collates the mounting state grasped by reading the identification information by the reading unit with the mounting state indicated by the mounting management table. 3. The storage medium management device according to claim 2, wherein, when there is a mismatch between the two mounting states as a result of the matching by the matching unit, the identification information read by the reading unit is added. The storage medium management device further comprising a correction unit that corrects the mounting management table based on the above. 4. The storage medium management device according to claim 1, wherein the reading unit is moved to each slot of the shelf by the transfer arm of the autochanger, and the reading unit moves to each slot. A storage medium management device for reading identification information held by an information holding means attached to a stored storage medium. 5. The storage medium management device according to claim 4, wherein the reading unit reads the identification information while the drive of the autochanger is accessing the storage medium. .