JPH0823957B2 - Cassette type automatic recording / playback device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an apparatus for storing a large number of cassette tapes in a shelf and automatically recording and reproducing a tape appropriately selected from the cassette tapes.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as such an automatic recording / reproducing apparatus, a cassette tape stored in a shelf is conveyed to a recording / reproducing machine by a conveying means, and after recording / reproducing, the tape is returned from the recording / reproducing machine to the shelf. It is known that the
-See Japanese Patent No. 61647).

An example of such a conventional device is shown in FIG. In the figure, the device is roughly divided into three parts, and a recording / playback machine (hereinafter referred to as VTR) 1, 2, 3 and a shelf in which a large number of cassette tapes are arranged in front of these VTRs. (Hereinafter referred to as tape stocker section) 4, and elevator sections 5, 6, 7 located between the VTR and the tape stocker section to connect the two. This elevator part has a guide rod 5
A slide block 6 that slides along the tape and a tape pedestal 7 that is engaged with the slide block 6. The slide block 6 is driven by a motor through a wire, a timing belt, or the like (not shown) fixed to the slide block 6. It can be moved.

Then, from the tape stocker section 4 to the cassette tape 8
In order to load (load) one VTR 2 onto the VTR 2, first, the tape 8 is moved in the direction of arrow A in the figure by some moving means and placed on the tape receiving table 7. Next, move the tape receiving stand 7 to the position facing the tape inlet 9 of the VTR 2 by the arrow B.
The tape 8 is moved in the direction of arrow C, and is loaded into the VTR 2 from the tape inlet 9. Further, when returning the loaded tape 8 to the original tape stocker section 4, the reverse operation is performed. In this way,
An arbitrary tape is moved between an arbitrary VTR and an arbitrary tape stocker section.

Further, in order to enable use of a large number of rows of the tape stocker section 4, the tape receiving stand 7 is provided so as to be slidable not only in the vertical direction but also in the horizontal direction.

However, in the case where the VTRs 1, 2 and 3 and the tape stocker unit 4 are arranged so as to face each other in this way, when the elevator units 5, 6 and 7 are out of order and the like, the operator holds the tape and holds the VTR.
When there is a work to load the tape, the work is not easy because there is the tape stocker section 4 in front of the VTRs 1, 2, and 3.

Therefore, it is conceivable to arrange the operation surfaces of the VTRs 1, 2 and 3 and the tape stocker section linearly and configure the elevator section with a robot hand. However, like this VTR
In the configuration in which the robot's hand moves to the front of the tape stocker section, for safety reasons, the robot's moving space should be kept and the robot's hand should be protected from the outside in order to prevent the operator from accidentally hitting the robot and getting hurt. It is necessary to provide a door for isolation.

When replacing the tape in the tape stocker section, the work is usually stopped by turning off the power of the robot, and then the door is opened, but the robot is often left in the working state. , I may want to do replacement work. Such a request is particularly great when the device is used for commercial use at a broadcasting station or the like.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems and responds to the above-mentioned demands. Therefore, while ensuring the safety of the operator against movement of the robot, the operator himself / herself while the robot is operating It is an object of the present invention to provide a cassette type automatic recording / reproducing apparatus capable of arbitrarily and easily exchanging a cassette tape stored in a tape stocker section (shelf).

(Structure of the Invention) The present invention has a storage shelf that has a compartment for storing a plurality of cassette tapes, and is capable of delivering and operating the cassette tapes from the front, and a plurality of recording / reproducing machines that are loaded with the cassette tapes for recording or reproduction. And a robot that moves between the plurality of storage shelves and the recording / playback device and delivers cassette tapes, and transports desired cassette tapes stored in the storage shelf to the upper recording / playback device for recording / playback. In the cassette-type automatic recording / reproducing apparatus, the storage rack and the operation surface of the recording / reproducing apparatus are linearly arranged, and the robot is movably provided on the front surface of the storage shelf and isolated from the outside through the movement space. A door that can be opened and closed to
A part of the storage shelf is provided so as to be able to move forward through the moving space.

With this configuration, some of the storage shelves that can move forward are moved forward, and the door or window of the portion facing this is opened and closed,
It is possible to take out unnecessary cassette tapes from the storage shelf by the operator's hand from the front or to store separate cassette tapes in the storage shelf.

(Embodiment) A cassette type automatic recording / reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 14. First
FIGS. 3 to 3 show the entire configuration, and the main body of the automatic recording / reproducing apparatus is composed of a basic unit 11 and extension units 12 and 13 linearly arranged and combined, and the basic unit 11 is a plurality of units arranged in a vertical direction. VTRs 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d, 14e and a flat storage shelf that has a compartment for accommodating a plurality of cassette tapes in the up-down direction and is capable of transferring cassette tapes from the front (hereinafter referred to as a linear bottle ) 15a, 15b, 15c, 15d,
The main robot 16 (details will be described later) that mainly transfers cassette tapes between the storage shelves 15a to 15d and the VTRs 14a to 14e, and the video / audio switcher that switches the input / output signals of the VTR and the drive circuit of the robot. Consists of racks 17 etc. stored.

The VTRs 14a to 14e and the front operation surfaces of the linear bottles 15a to 15d are arranged substantially linearly, and the main robot 16 is movably provided on the front surfaces of the VTRs 14a to 15d. A double door 18 made of transparent protective glass that can be opened and closed is provided to separate the door from the outside.

The expansion units 12 and 13 are rotatable type bottles 19 and 20 that are rotatable by providing bottles along the outer surface of the cylinder, and are mainly provided between the rotatable type bottles 19 and 20 and the linear type bottle 1 described above.
It consists of an auxiliary robot 21 that delivers cassette tapes between 5a to 15d. The linear bins 15a to 15d are convenient in that the state of the cassette tape in the bin can be directly visually inspected, while the rotary bins 19 and 20 are more convenient than the linear bin when the number of cassette tapes to be stored is large. It has good storage efficiency and is suitable for saving space and weight. Also, depending on the number of cassette tapes to be stored, expansion units 12,13
The number of can be freely set by increasing or decreasing, and the system can be optimized by appropriately combining both the linear bin and the rotary bin.

In addition, when adding expansion units 12 and 13 to the basic unit 11, the rails installed on the upper and lower parts of the front of each
It is possible by connecting 22,23,24. Further, one operation surface of the rotary type bottles 19 and 20 in the expansion units 12 and 13 is the VTRs 14a to 14e of the basic unit 11 and the linear type bottle 1
It is linearly arranged with the operation surface of 5a to 15d, and it is a rotary type bottle 19,20.
Unnecessary parts are covered with a cover 25 from the viewpoint of aesthetics and safety, and the front doors of the units 12 and 13 are provided with double doors 26 and 27 which are similar to the door 18 in a straight line.

In the figure, 28 and 29 are manipulators of the main robot 16 for carrying the cassette tape, and 30 is the auxiliary robot.
Reference numeral 21 denotes a manipulator, and reference numeral 31 denotes an openable / closable window provided on a portion substantially on the same plane as the door 18 and facing a part of the linear bottle 15d which can be moved backward and forward as described later. Although not shown, the doors 18, 2 of the units 11, 12, 13 are also shown.
The 6,27 is equipped with an automatic locking mechanism, and when the door is opened for safety measures, the locking mechanism is unlocked (unlocked by a plunger etc.) after cutting off part of the power supply to the robot. I am trying.

FIG. 4 shows the drive structure of the robot unit. The main and auxiliary robots 16 and 21 are provided with upper and lower sliding parts 43 and 44, which slide on the upper and lower rails 22, 23 and 24, at the upper and lower ends of the main and auxiliary robot support columns 41 and 42, respectively. It has a moving and retained structure.

As a horizontal (horizontal) drive means for the main and auxiliary robots 16 and 21,
Timing belts 45 and 46 partially fixed to the lower sliding portions 43 and 44 and stretched between the pulleys, and horizontal drive motors 47 and 48 that rotate and drive one of the pulleys are provided.
Further, as means for vertically (longitudinally) driving the manipulators 28, 29 and 30 of the main and auxiliary robots 16 and 21, respectively,
Timing belts 49, 50 provided in the main and auxiliary robots, partially fixed to the manipulators 28, 29 and 30 and stretched between the pulleys, and a motor for vertical drive of the main and auxiliary robots that rotationally drives one of the pulleys. It has 51 and 52.

Manipulators 28, 29 and 30 with the above driving means
Is controlled to move up and down and left and right. Also, the manipulator
28, 29 and 30 are provided with functional means for holding the cassette tape and removing it from the bin and inserting it into the VTR or vice versa.

The main robot 16 has two manipulators 28 and 29. This is an effective means for reducing the number of VTRs and for providing the function of covering each other in the event of a failure. By the way, when recording and playing back continuously for a shorter time than multiple cassette tapes, the VTR is removed from the tape bin.
Due to the time required for transportation and insertion into the tape, rewinding of the tape, and removal from the VTR, multiple VTRs
However, by having multiple manipulators, the movement efficiency of the robot is improved, and it is effective in reducing the number of VTRs.

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show a part of a straight type bin 15d which can be moved forward and backward. Since this linear type bottle 15d is used as a stand for inserting and removing cassette tape,
Hereinafter, this is referred to as an I / O station. The door 18 facing this I / O station has a window that can be opened and closed (this
I / O station window) 31 is provided.

When the I / O station block 61 is instructed to move forward, the main robot 16
Moving forward in the direction of arrow D through a part of the moving space, and when reaching the vicinity of the door 18, the I / O station window 31 starts moving in the direction of arrow E, and the I / O station block 61 stops at the fixed position. It is like this. Then, the cassette 82 can be held by hand from the I / O station and taken out or inserted in the direction of the arrow. I / O station block 61
When the vehicle moves backward, the reverse operation of the forward movement is performed.

As a drive means of the I / O station block 61, an arm 62 fixed to the block 61 is guided and supported by a rail 63 fixed to the unit body frame, and is also supported between the pulleys 64 and 65 supported on the front and rear frames of the body. A part of the stretched timing belt 66 is engaged with a member 62a connected to the arm 62, and one pulley 64 is moved in the direction of arrow G (FIG. 6) by a motor 67.
It is designed to be driven by rotation. This allows
The member 62a is reciprocated in the arrow H direction, and therefore the arm 62 and the I / O station block 61 can be moved in the arrow D direction.

By providing the I / O station in this way, the cassette tape can be safely and easily replaced even while the robot is operating. That is, it is dangerous for the operator to directly insert and remove the cassette tape in the bottle during the robot operation, but in actual operation, it is often required to replace the cassette tape even during the robot operation. To be done. Therefore, the robot collects the unnecessary cassette tapes in the above-mentioned I / O station bin 15d, and then advances the I / O station block 61 to the vicinity of the I / O station window 31, and opens this window 31. , The above tape can be removed by hand. You can also insert a new tape. It should be noted that when the I / O station block 61 is in the advanced state, the robot must be controlled to operate by avoiding this part.

The I / O station bin may be divided into an insertion tape bin and an ejection tape bin for convenience, but there is also a method of using the entire I / O station freely for more efficient operation. Therefore, an indicator lamp 68 (Fig. 5) for indicating whether each single bin is a take-out tape or not
The indicator lamp 68 is turned on when the tape contained in the bin is to be taken out, and is turned off when the tape is taken out.

7 and 8 show the opening / closing mechanism of the I / O station window 31. As the opening / closing mechanism, I / O is provided on the door 18 provided in the double door opening type via the hinge 71 on the frame of the basic unit 11.
In order to guide the station window 31 so that it can move left and right,
The lower guide rails 72, 73 are mounted, and the timing belt 76c is hung between the toothed drive pulley 76a of the opening / closing drive motor 75 mounted on the upper side of the door 18 via the bracket 74 and the other driven pulley 76b. A part of this belt 76c and the upper side of the I / O station window 31 are connected by a connecting fitting 77.

With such a configuration, by operating the opening / closing drive motor 75, the I / O station window 31 is moved in the left-right direction as shown by the arrow in FIG.
The opening facing the front of the I / O station block 61 of the door 18 can be opened and closed. The operation of the I / O station block 61 and the window 31 is such that by turning on a switch (not shown), the robot avoids the I / O station part and operates, and the I / O station block 61 Move forward just behind the window 31, then open / close drive motor
75 operates to open the window 31, and then stops with the I / O station block 61 slightly protruding forward (to the front, that is, outside the basic unit 11) from the opening of the door 18 where the window 31 is open. To do. By performing such continuous operation, the operator can operate the base unit 11 through the opening of the door 18.
I / O that moves forward with the member of the door 18 by inserting your hand inside the
It is possible to prevent the hands from being caught between the station block 61 and the robot, and to further improve the safety.

Further, the I / O station window 31 responds to the opening / closing operation by the lateral movement by the action of the cam plate 78a and the cam follower 78b interposed between the door 18 and the door 18, and is in the same plane as the front surface of the 18 when closed. When the door 18 is retracted upward and opened, the front surface of the door 18 is projected to the front side by the thickness of the I / O station window 31. By adopting such a configuration that the I / O station window 31 is closed, the projecting portion is eliminated to improve the appearance and function.

FIG. 9 shows the relationship between the single cassette and the large cassette tape that compose the above linear bottle, FIG. 10 shows the relationship between the single cassette and the small cassette tape, and FIG. 11 shows the single cassette. A bottle made by vertically stacking bottles is shown. In these drawings, the single bin 81 is formed so that the large cassette tape 82 is substantially accommodated therein, and the leaf springs 83 for holding the large cassette tape 82 at the time of storing the large cassette tape 82 are provided on both side surfaces facing each other. Has 84. In addition, a tape 85 for identifying the tape is attached to the rear surface of the large cassette tape 82, and auxiliary labels 86 and 87 are attached to the rear surface and the upper surface of the large cassette tape 82 for easy visual identification. There is. In addition, a protrusion that engages with the reverse insertion prevention groove of the cassette is provided on the contact surface of the single bin 81 that contacts the bottom surface of the large cassette tape 82, thereby preventing reverse insertion.

When the small cassette tape 88 is stored, it is stored close to the left end of the single bin 81 as shown in FIG. The small cassette tape 88 is held by a leaf spring 83 and a protrusion that engages with a reverse insertion preventing groove of the cassette provided in the single bin 81. The small cassette tape 88 is also attached with the bar code 85 and the auxiliary labels 89, 90 for visual observation.

The bin 15 is constructed by vertically stacking the single bins 81 as described above. Large cassette tape in this bin 15
FIG. 9 shows the storage state of the 82 and the small cassette tape 88. Further, the robot manipulators 28, 29, 30 are stored in the bin 15 (15a to 15d, 19, 20) or the VTR 14a to.
An optical reading device for reading the bar code 85 attached to the back surface of the cassette tape loaded in 14e is provided, and this reading device interlocks with the operations of the main robot 16 and the auxiliary robot 21 to detect the type of cassette tape and the current Information such as position is input to the control device body.

FIG. 12 shows a part of the manipulators 28, 29 of the robot as seen through. Each of the manipulators 28, 29 is
While moving forward and backward, holding the cassette tape 82 (or 88) and pulling it out from the bottle 15 or VTR 14a to 14e,
Alternatively, it is provided with a chuck portion 28a having a function of releasing the clasp after being inserted into these, a mechanism for driving the chuck portion 28a, drive motors 28b, 28c, and the like. Further, an optical reading device 28d for reading the bar code 85 attached to the cassette tape 82 (or 88) is provided.

FIG. 13 shows an operation display plate 91 provided on the operation surface of each VTR 14a-14e. The operation indicator plate 91 is provided with the following indicator lamps and indicators. The alarm (ALARM) lamp 92 is turned on when the VTR fails, and the ready (READY) lamp 93 loads the cassette tape on the VTR and stops near the recording / playback start point and recording / playback can be started at any time. The playback (PLAYBACK) lamp 94 is turned on when the VTR is in the recording / playback state.

The 4-digit number indicator 95 labeled "GET TAPE FROM" displays the number of the bin containing the tape to be acquired and inserted into the VTR. "RETURN TAPE T
The 4-digit number indicator 96 labeled "O" displays the bin number in which the used tape should be returned.

Here, a specific bin number is determined in advance for identifying each single bin that constitutes the bin.
On the other hand, since multiple VTRs are equipped, even if one of them fails, it can be switched to another VTR for use. However, if the robot breaks down, the tape exchange function may stop and the device may become unusable. Therefore, the above-mentioned acquisition bin number display 95 and return bin number display 96 are provided in order to facilitate manual tape replacement work in the event of a robot failure.

FIG. 14 shows a control system of the apparatus. The control apparatus 101 including a microcomputer is provided with various information to execute predetermined automatic recording / playback operation based on program data stored in the storage device 102. The output command is issued to the various actuators. In the figure, the same numerals as those described above indicate the same members, 103 is an input means such as a keyboard, 104 is a display means such as a CRT, 105 is a main and auxiliary robot position detector, and 106 is a bar code on a cassette tape. A reading device, 107 is a means for turning on / off a power source for the main and auxiliary robots, and 108 is a locking mechanism for the doors 18, 26, 27.

With the configuration of the above embodiment, the main and auxiliary robots 16 and 21 take out cassette tapes from various bins in the order of the recording / playback list, load them into the VTR, and record / play back. When multiple cassette tapes are continuously recorded and played back, the first
If the VTR is recording / playing back, the cassette tape to be subsequently recorded / played back in the second VTR stands by in a standby state. Also, usually the tape that has been played back is a VTR
The tape will be rewound by the robot, but the robot can be used to transport the tape appropriately, taking into consideration the time required for playback or rewinding and the transportation time between the bin and the VTR or between the VTRs by the robot. So that you can get the desired behavior.

Then, the cassette tapes that are no longer needed are collected by the robot in the I / O station consisting of the movable linear bin 15d, so the I / O station can be moved forward to move the I / O station.
The station window 31 can be opened to allow the operator to manually remove the unnecessary cassette tape and insert a new cassette tape. This operation can be performed without stopping the operation of the robot, and its operational effect is great. Also, since the robot's moving space and the outside are usually separated by a door, it is safe to turn off the power to a part of the robot before releasing the door locking function. Therefore, safety is ensured when the door is opened and the tape is manually replaced.

When this device is operated with a predetermined time code, the time from the current time until the VTR starts recording / playback or the time until the robot operates next is displayed for each VTR. By providing a time display section, when it is necessary to replace the tape urgently, it is possible to open the door and judge whether the operator can perform the work manually while the device continues to operate. Is easily possible.

As described above, according to the present invention, the storage shelves of the cassette tape and the operation surface of the recording / reproducing apparatus are linearly arranged, and in front of these, the moving space of the moving robot is provided and the outside is provided. Since a door for isolating the robot is provided and a part of the storage shelf is provided so as to be able to move forward through the moving space, while ensuring the safety of the operator to the robot, the robot remains in the operating state, You can easily pull out unnecessary cassette tapes from the storage shelf from the front or insert new cassette tapes into the storage shelf. Further, the operator can perform the operation of inserting / removing the cassette tape and the monitoring of the operating state of the robot from the same side of the apparatus, which has a great effect on the operation of the apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a cassette type automatic recording / reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the apparatus, FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the apparatus, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a drive structure, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a movable storage shelf part, FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a drive structure of the same part, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are I / O stations. Top and front views showing the opening and closing mechanism of the window, FIGS. 9 and 10 are perspective views of a part of the storage shelf (bin), FIG. 11 is a partial perspective view of the storage shelf in an assembled state, and FIG. Manipulator perspective view, Figure 13 shows VTR
FIG. 14 is a front view of the operation display plate of FIG. 14, FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control system, and FIG. 15 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration example of a conventional device. 14a to 14e …… VTR (recorder / reproducer), 15,15a to 15d …… Linear bin (storage shelf), 18,26,27 …… door, 19,20 …… Rotary bin (storage shelf), 16 ...... Main robot, 21 …… Auxiliary robot, 31 …… I / O station window (window), 61 …… I / O station block, 82,88 …… Cassette tape, 101 …… Control device, 107 …… Robot Power on / off means 108 ... Door locking mechanism.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Teruhisa Yokota, 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-57-198576 (JP, A)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A storage shelf which has a compartment for storing a plurality of cassette tapes and which can be operated by delivering and receiving the cassette tapes from the front, a plurality of recording / reproducing machines loaded with the cassette tapes for recording or reproducing, and a plurality of the recording / reproducing machines. A cassette equipped with a robot that moves between a storage shelf and a recording / reproducing device to transfer a cassette tape, and transports a desired cassette tape stored in the storage shelf to an upper recording / reproducing device for recording / reproducing. In the automatic recording / playback device, the storage shelf and the operation surface of the recording / playback device are linearly arranged, and the robot is movably provided on the front surface of the storage rack and the opening / closing for isolating the robot from the outside through the moving space. A cassette type automatic recording / reproducing apparatus, which is provided with a door that can be moved, and is provided so that a part of the storage shelf can be moved forward through the moving space. 2. A cassette type automatic recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a window that is openable and closable is provided in a portion which is substantially the same as the door and which faces a storage shelf that can move forward. . 3. The cassette type automatic recording according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the robot moves around the storage shelf that can be moved forward while avoiding a portion of the storage shelf. Playback device.