JPH0917164A - Automatic medium exchanging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain an auto changer which is adaptable to the multimedia age, can store many sheets of optical discs in a tray system, can be initialized in a short time when magazines are exchanged, etc., with a high working efficiency. CONSTITUTION: A tray 8 loading media is stored in a magazine 2, and equipped with a detachment sensor 19 for detecting when the magazine 2 is exchanged. An initialization operation is carried out to take only data related to the disc stored in the exchanged magazine 2 in accordance with a signal of the detachment sensor 19.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically exchanging a plurality of optical disc media such as a CD-ROM, a magneto-optical disc, a phase change optical disc, etc., which can be used only for reproduction or for recording and reproduction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, optical disc media have received a great deal of attention as a medium for image processing, not to mention as an external memory for computers due to the increase in capacity and the speed of recording / reproducing data. An automatic media changer (hereinafter referred to as an autochanger) that can manage and operate the data of has been commercialized. In recent years, a small auto changer has been required due to its installation space, and there has been proposed an auto changer that accommodates a plurality of media placed on a tray to improve storage efficiency and handleability.

A conventional autochanger will be described below. FIG. 3 shows an example of a conventional autochanger. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a tray transfer unit that takes out a tray 8 on which a medium (not shown) is placed in a magazine 2 and moves it in the direction of arrow a to transfer it to a drive 3, which is guided by a guide shaft 4 and a drive motor 7 Is driven by the belt 5 via the pulley 6. Tray 8
4, a medium storage recess 9 is formed, an opening 10 into which the pickup 14 and the turntable 13 of the drive 3 can enter, a positioning hole 11 for positioning the drive 3, and a tray transfer unit. 1 is a notch for removing / inserting from the magazine 2
2 are provided. Further, a drive 3 mounted on the autochanger has a turntable 13 that rotates by mounting a medium, and a pickup 1 that reads a signal from the medium.
4 and positioning pins 15 corresponding to the positioning holes 11 of the tray 8 are provided. Further, 16 is a transfer control unit that controls the drive of the drive motor 7 and the tray transfer unit 1, and 17 is a drive control unit that controls the drive of the drive. Then, 18 issues an operation command to the transfer control unit 16 and the drive control unit 17, and controls the operation of the autochanger and the information of the medium based on the input of a host (not shown), operation buttons (not shown), etc. It is a control unit that manages.

Next, the operation will be described. A case will be described in which a command for mounting a predetermined medium in the drive is input to the control unit 18 from the outside. First, based on the output signal of the control unit 18, the transfer control unit 16 outputs an operation command signal to the drive motor 7 and the tray transfer unit 1.
As a result, the tray transfer unit 1 is driven by the drive motor 7 via the belt 5 in the directions of arrows a and b, and moves to the position corresponding to the designated tray 8. Then, the tray transfer unit 1 uses the notch 12 from the magazine 2 to make the tray 8
Take out. Next, the tray transfer unit 1 containing the tray 8
Moves in the direction of arrow a to engage the positioning hole 11 of the tray 8 with the positioning pin 15 of the drive 3 to position the tray 8 with respect to the drive 3. At this stage, the control unit 18 outputs a command signal to the drive control unit 17, and the turntable 13 and the pickup 14 of the drive 3 enter the opening 10 and, at the same time, center the medium placed on the tray 8 on the turntable 13. Then, the tray transfer unit 1 is fixed to the turntable 13 by a clamp unit (not shown) configured in the tray transfer unit 1. After that, the turntable 13 rotates and the signal is read by the pickup 14. In this state, the tray 8 is positioned in the drive 3 and is held in the tray transfer section 1 in a height relationship so as not to contact the medium.

The returning operation of the tray 8 which has been reproduced is performed as follows. Similarly, when the drive control unit 17 stops the turntable 13 based on a command signal from the control unit, the transfer control unit 16 causes the tray transfer unit 1 to stop.
Is moved in the direction of arrow b by the drive motor 7, the medium is released from the clamp on the turntable 13, the medium is transferred to the predetermined position of the magazine 2 with the medium placed on the tray 8, and the magazine is formed using the notches 12. Returned to 2.

Next, the management of media (presence or absence of media, type of media, contents recorded on media, etc.) performed by this autochanger will be described. When the user opens the door 20 and inserts the magazine 2 and then closes the door 20, the control unit 18 detects a signal from a door opening / closing sensor (not shown) and sends a command signal to the transfer control unit 16 to cause the tray All the trays are sequentially taken out by using the transfer unit, and a sensor (not shown) for detecting the presence / absence of the medium detects whether or not the medium is placed on the tray. In some cases, the tray is transferred to the drive 3 and the medium is installed in the drive 3 to determine the type of the medium and to write information on the recording data of the medium or management information. By storing the information about these media in the control unit 18, it is possible to issue an operation command using the information about the storage position, type, and contents of the media during the above-described exchange operation. This series of operations is also called initialization, and is performed when the device is turned on, when the user replaces the magazine 2, or when the host issues an initialization command.

Further, as a conventional example other than the magazine / tray system, an auto changer of a type that accommodates a plurality of cartridges that accommodate one medium is often used. In this case, since the cartridges are inserted and removed one by one through the mail slot (a mechanism for inserting / ejecting the cartridge into / from the autochanger) provided in the autochanger, the control unit knows which cartridge is stored in which place. Therefore, the control section carries out the above-mentioned initialization operation only for a cartridge that has been replaced or newly inserted.

[0008]

However, the following problems occur in the above-mentioned first conventional configuration.

That is, the above-mentioned initializing operation generally takes a very long time because each tray is pulled out from the magazine and, depending on the case, transferred to and placed on the drive to detect and manage the medium information. It is necessary to initialize all the media at least once when the power of the device is turned on.However, even if only one of the multiple magazines is replaced, the autochanger cannot detect which magazine has been replaced and all Initialize the magazine. Therefore, there is a problem that initialization time is required each time the magazine is replaced, and the operation efficiency of the apparatus is reduced. Especially in the environment where it is used by connecting to the network, the effect is very large.

Further, in the second conventional example, since the initialization operation is performed only for the replaced cartridge, the initialization operation does not take a long time, and the operating efficiency of the apparatus or the entire system including the apparatus decreases. Nothing. However, since the cartridge has a structure in which the mediums are housed one by one, the space occupying volume per medium becomes large as compared with the case of the magazine / tray as in the first conventional example. Therefore, when the same number of media are stored in the autochanger, there is a problem that the entire apparatus inevitably becomes large.

The present invention solves this problem and provides an automatic changer which is small in size, has a high storage efficiency, and can be initialized in a short time when a magazine storing a medium is exchanged and has a high operating efficiency.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a drive, which is a recording / reproducing apparatus capable of placing and processing a medium, is mounted, and a plurality of the above-mentioned mediums are accommodated and detachable. A storage unit, a mounting / dismounting detection unit that detects mounting / dismounting of the storage unit, and a storage information storage unit that stores storage information of the medium stored in the storage unit. It is configured to update the storage information of the storage unit that is attached and detached based on the output.

[0013]

With this configuration, when the magazine containing the medium is replaced while the magazine / tray configuration having a small size and a high storage efficiency is adopted, the initialization is completed in a short time, and the apparatus or the entire system to which the apparatus is connected is completed. The operating efficiency of can be improved.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the figure, 1 is a magazine 2
The tray 8 on which the medium (not shown) in (2a, 2b) is placed is taken out, moved in the direction of arrow a and transferred to the drive 3, and is guided by the guide shaft 4 by the drive motor 7. It is driven by the belt 5 via the pulley 6. A plurality of trays 8 are stored in the magazine 2, and the user can freely exchange magazines by opening and closing the door 17. In addition, an attachment / detachment sensor 19 for detecting attachment / detachment of 2a, 2b of each magazine
a and 19b are installed. As shown in FIG. 2, the tray 8 has a medium storage recess 9, an opening 10 into which the pickup 14 and the turntable 13 of the drive 3 can enter, a positioning hole 11 for positioning the drive 3, and a tray. A notch 12 is provided for the transfer unit 1 to take out / insert from the magazine 2. Drive 3 mounted on the autochanger
A turntable 13 which is loaded with a medium and rotates, a pickup 14 and a tray 8 which read signals from the medium
Positioning pins 15 corresponding to the positioning holes 11 are provided. Further, 16 is a transfer control unit that controls the drive of the drive motor 7 and the tray transfer unit 1, and 17 is a drive control unit that controls the drive of the drive. Then, 18 issues an operation command to the transfer control unit 16 and the drive control unit 17, and controls the operation of the autochanger and the information of the medium based on the input of a host (not shown), operation buttons (not shown), etc. It is a control unit that manages.

Next, the operation will be described. A case will be described in which a command for mounting a predetermined medium in the drive is input to the control unit 18 from the outside. First, based on the output signal of the control unit 18, the transfer control unit 16 outputs an operation command signal to the drive motor 7 and the tray transfer unit 1.
As a result, the tray transfer unit 1 is driven by the drive motor 7 via the belt 5 in the directions of arrows a and b, and moves to the position corresponding to the designated tray 8. Then, the tray transfer unit 1 uses the notch 12 from the magazine 2 to make the tray 8
Take out. Next, the tray transfer unit 1 containing the tray 8
Moves in the direction of arrow a to engage the positioning hole 11 of the tray 8 with the positioning pin 15 of the drive 3 to position the tray 8 with respect to the drive 3. At this stage, the control unit 18 outputs a command signal to the drive control unit 17, and the turntable 13 and the pickup 14 of the drive 3 enter the opening 10 and, at the same time, center the medium placed on the tray 8 on the turntable 13. Then, the tray transfer unit 1 is fixed to the turntable 13 by a clamp unit (not shown) configured in the tray transfer unit 1. After that, the turntable 13 rotates and the signal is read by the pickup 14. In this state, the tray 8 is positioned in the drive 3 and is held in the tray transfer section 1 in a height relationship so as not to contact the medium.

The returning operation of the tray 8 which has been reproduced is carried out as follows. Similarly, when the drive control unit 17 stops the turntable 13 based on a command signal from the control unit, the transfer control unit 16 causes the tray transfer unit 1 to stop.
Is moved in the direction of arrow b by the drive motor 7, the medium is released from the clamp on the turntable 13, the medium is transferred to the predetermined position of the magazine 2 with the medium placed on the tray 8, and the magazine is formed using the notches 12. Returned to 2.

As described in the conventional example, the initialization operation at power-on performed by this auto changer is such that the control section 18 sends a command signal to the transfer control section 16, and all trays are sequentially operated by using the tray transfer section. A sensor (not shown) for detecting the presence / absence of the take-out medium detects whether or not the medium is placed on the tray. Then, the tray is transferred to the drive 3, the medium is installed in the drive 3, the type of the medium is discriminated, and the information of the recording data of the medium or the management information in the case of the recording / reproducing medium is written. Information about these media is stored in the controller unit 18 as in the conventional example.

Next, the operation when the user replaces only the magazine 2a will be described. When the magazine 2a is replaced, the control unit 18 uses the attachment / detachment sensor 19
The signal of a is detected. At the same time, when the signal of the attachment / detachment sensor 19b is monitored and it is confirmed that the magazine 2b has not been exchanged, a command signal is output to the transfer control unit 16 and the drive control unit 17, and the trays and media stored in the exchanged magazine 2a. The initialization operation described above is performed. Then, only the information about the medium stored in the magazine 2a is updated. At this time, the previous information is retained as it is for the magazine 2b that has not been exchanged.

As described above, only the exchanged magazine is initialized and the data is updated, so that the time required for the initialization can be remarkably shortened. Then, it becomes possible to improve the operation efficiency of the autochanger and further the operation efficiency of the entire system to which the autochanger is connected.

In this embodiment, the medium is exchanged in magazine units. However, in the case of the tray on which the medium is placed, the exchange of each tray and cartridge is detected even in the case of an autochanger that stores and manages the medium in cartridge units. Needless to say, if a sensor is provided, the initialization time can be shortened as well.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, a drive, which is a recording / reproducing apparatus capable of mounting and processing a medium, is mounted, and a plurality of the plurality of mediums can be stored and detached.
An attachment / detachment detection unit that detects attachment / detachment of the storage unit and a storage information storage unit that stores storage information of the medium stored in the storage unit are provided, and the storage information storage unit is based on the output of the attachment / detachment detection unit. By configuring the storage information of the detached storage unit to be updated, it is possible to significantly reduce the time required for initialization when exchanging the storage unit and improve the operating efficiency of the device or the entire system including the device. It is a thing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an autochanger of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of the autochanger in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an autochanger in a conventional example.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of an autochanger in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Tray Transfer Section 2 Magazine 3 Drive 4 Guide Shaft 5 Belt 6 Pulley 7 Drive Motor 8 Tray 16 Transfer Control Section 17 Drive Control Section 18 Control Section 19 Attachment / Detachment Sensor

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yoshio Umeda 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kozo Ezawa, 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A recording / reproducing apparatus capable of mounting and processing a medium,
A plurality of the above-mentioned mediums, and a detachable storage section; a detachment detection section for detecting attachment / detachment of the storage section; and a storage information storage section for storing storage information of the medium stored in the storage section, The automatic storage medium changing device, wherein the storage information storage unit updates storage information of the storage unit that has been attached / detached based on the output of the attachment / detachment detection means. 2. The automatic medium changing device according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of storage units. 3. A recording / reproducing apparatus capable of mounting and processing a medium,
An attachment / detachment detection unit that detects attachment / detachment of the medium, and an accommodation information storage unit that stores accommodation information of the medium are provided, and the accommodation information storage unit stores the accommodation information of the detached medium based on the output of the attachment / detachment detection unit. An automatic medium changing device characterized by updating. 4. The medium automatic exchange device according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of media are stored. 5. The automatic medium changing device according to claim 1, wherein the storage portion is constituted by a magazine.