JPH1049840A - Cartridge autochanger - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent reduction of the number of windings for accommodation, by enabling the movement of a cartridge transfer means parallel to the cartridge laminating direction to arrange a head cleaning tape on the moving path of the cartridge transfer means. SOLUTION: In the case of taking a front loading system in which a cartridge 8 is inserted to a recording and reproducing drive 2 from the front side, the cartridge inserting port 21 is arranged at the upper part of the recording and reproducing drive 2. Therefore, the area where the diagonal line range for transfer of the cartridge transfer case 4 overlaps with the front lower part of the recording and reproducing drive 2 is a space which has been not used. This unused space has a size sufficient for accommodation of a volume of the cartridge. In this invention, the head cleaning tape 5 is accommodated in this apparatus using such space. Thereby, the cartridge accommodation space in the related art can be saved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a small cartridge autochanger having a function of automatically exchanging a small number of cartridges stored in a device by a data streamer or a VTR for a cartridge tape using a tape as a recording medium. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a cartridge autochanger with a built-in magnetic tape device is used as a backup device for a computer, dust adheres to the head due to long-term use of the magnetic tape device, defective tape itself, and use environment. May cause clogging. For clogging of the head, a member for cleaning the head is arranged in the apparatus and pressed against the head when loading and unloading the cartridge, thereby preventing dust from growing.
However, when a large amount of dust is adhered to and cannot be dealt with by the above-described means, a tape having a high abrasive property or a tape having a high cleaning effect on the attached dust is run to remove the attached dust. While the cartridge autochanger automatically or semi-automatically replaces a large amount of data, the head cleaning tape is manually replaced and used.

[0003]

In order to change the cleaning tape automatically or semi-automatically, it is necessary to store the cleaning tape in the apparatus. However, when the cleaning tape is disposed in the cartridge storage space, the number of windings of the recording / reproducing cartridge is naturally reduced. Especially for small cartridge autochangers,
If the number of stored cartridges is 10 or less, and the number of stored cartridges is reduced even in one roll, the total storage capacity of the cartridge autochanger will be reduced by several tens of percent. For this reason, there is a demand for storing a head cleaning tape without reducing the number of windings of a conventional recording / reproducing cartridge.

[0004]

A recording / reproducing drive and a cartridge storage space are arranged in series in the cartridge stacking direction, the cartridge conveying means is movable in parallel with the cartridge stacking direction, and a moving path along which the cartridge conveying means moves linearly. Place the head cleaning tape on top.

[0005] Further, the transport means has a structure capable of taking in a cartridge from at least two directions of a movable direction of the transport means and a vertical direction thereof.

[0006] Further, the construction of the conveying means includes a cartridge chuck member, a solenoid for opening and closing the cartridge chuck member, an operation of the solenoid, and a moving member movable in a direction of taking the cartridge in and out of the cartridge storage space from the conveying means. Is mounted on the transport means, and a driving means for operating the moving member is mounted on the transport means. When the cartridge is taken in from the cartridge storage space, the cartridge chuck is opened and the cartridge storage space direction is set. The cartridge is taken in by moving the moving member to the cartridge portion and the cartridge chuck member is closed by the cartridge portion. When the cleaning tape is taken in, the cartridge chuck member is opened without moving the moving member of the conveying device, and the conveying device is moved. Leaning for moving the tape direction, captures the cartridge at the cartridge chucking member closed when the transport means comes to the tape unit for cleaning.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows an example of parts arrangement of a cartridge autochanger according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a cartridge autochanger, and FIG. 1B is a side view. The cartridge autochanger 1 includes a cartridge storage rack 3, a recording / reproduction drive 2, a head cleaning tape 5, and a cartridge storage rack 3 and a recording / reproduction drive 2.
And a cartridge transport case 4 for transporting the cartridge 8 therebetween. The cartridge transport case 4 can linearly move the front of the cartridge storage rack 3 and the recording / reproducing drive 2 by a cartridge transport case moving mechanism (not shown in FIG. 1). At this time, the cleaning tape 5 is in a range where the cartridge transport case 4 is moved by the cartridge transport case moving mechanism (FIG. 1).
(B) the end of the hatched portion and the recording / reproduction drive 2
At a location other than the cartridge insertion slot 21 on the front surface of the cartridge. A plurality of cartridges 8 are stored in the cartridge storage rack 3 in a stacked state. At this time, the cartridge 8 is housed in the cartridge insertion slot 21 of the recording / reproducing drive 2 in the same direction as the direction in which the cartridge 8 is inserted. When the recording / reproducing drive 2 adopts a front loading system in which the cartridge 8 is inserted from the front, the cartridge insertion slot 21 is connected to the recording / reproducing drive 2
Is located at the top. For this reason, the portion where the hatched area in which the cartridge transport case 4 moves and the lower front part of the recording / reproducing drive 2 overlap is a space not conventionally used. This unused space is large enough to accommodate one roll of cartridge. In the present invention, by using this space to house the head cleaning tape 5 in the apparatus, the conventional cartridge housing space is not consumed.

The mechanical operation of the cartridge autochanger 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a view for explaining a state when the cartridge storage rack 3 is loaded into the cartridge autochanger 1. The upper part in the drawing shows the cartridge top view, and the lower part shows the side view. The cartridge autochanger 1 is provided with a rack loading mechanism 6 for loading the cartridge storage rack 3 and a cartridge transport case drive mechanism 7. When the cartridge storage rack 3 is loaded as shown in FIG. 2A, the cartridge transport case 4 moves to the front of the recording / reproduction drive 2 and escapes from the loading path of the cartridge storage rack 3. In this state, the cartridge storage rack 3 is loaded to the upper portion of the recording / reproducing drive 2 by the rack loading mechanism 6.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the operation of transporting the cartridge 8 from the cartridge storage rack 3 to the recording / reproducing drive 2. The cartridge transport case 4 is moved by the cartridge transport case drive mechanism 7 to the target height of the cartridge 8 in the cartridge storage rack 3 (FIG. 3A). After the height of the cartridge 8 matches the height of the cartridge transport case 4, the cartridge 8 is loaded from the cartridge storage rack 3 into the cartridge transport case by the cartridge loading mechanism mounted on the cartridge transport case 4. After taking in the cartridge 8, the cartridge transport case is moved to the front of the recording / reproducing drive by the cartridge transport case drive mechanism 7 (FIG. 3B). Then, the cartridge 8 is sent out to the recording / reproducing drive 2 in a procedure reverse to that when the cartridge 8 is taken in from the cartridge storage rack 3.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the operation of transporting the cleaning tape 5 disposed at the lower front of the recording / reproducing drive 2 to the recording / reproducing drive 2. The cartridge transport case 4 is moved to the position of the cleaning tape 5 by the cartridge transport case drive mechanism 7, and the cleaning tape 5 is taken in (FIG. 4A). After taking in the cleaning tape 5, the cartridge transport case is moved to the front of the recording / reproducing drive by the cartridge transport case drive mechanism 7 (FIG. 4B). Then, the cleaning tape 5 is sent out to the recording / reproducing drive 2 in a procedure reverse to that when the cartridge 8 is taken in from the cartridge storage rack 3.

As described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, in the present invention, when the cartridge carrying case 4 takes in the cartridge, it is necessary to take in the cartridge carrying case in two directions, that is, the moving direction and the vertical direction thereof. This specific mechanism example will be described with reference to FIG. The cartridge transport case 4 has a movable slide plate 10 mounted on the cartridge transport case base 9. The slide plate 10 is provided with cartridge chucks 11a and 11b that are chucked when taking in a cartridge.
The cartridge chucks 11a and 11b are normally urged in the closing direction by the cartridge chuck urging springs 14a and 14b (FIG. 5A). The slide plate 10 has a cartridge chuck opening / closing solenoid 13.
Are mounted, and the cartridge chucks 11a, 11b
Are the cartridge chuck opening and closing shafts 12a and 12b.
Are connected via By pulling the cartridge chuck opening / closing shafts 12a and 12b with the cartridge chuck opening / closing solenoid 13, the cartridge chuck 1
1a and 11b can be opened (FIG. 5B). Also,
The slide plate 10 is driven by a motor 15 disposed on the
(C) It is movable in the direction of the arrow.

The operation of loading a cartridge using the cartridge transport case will be described with reference to FIGS. 6, 7, 8, and 9. 6 and 7 are views for explaining the operation when the cartridge 8 is taken in from the cartridge storage rack. FIG. 6 omits the cartridge storage rack and shows only the arrangement of the cartridges 8. FIG. 6A shows a state where the cartridge transport case 4 has been moved by the cartridge transport case drive mechanism to the same height as the cartridge to be taken out. From here, as shown in FIG. 6B, the slide plate 10 is moved to the cartridge storage rack side to take in the cartridge. This series of operations is shown in FIG.
First, the cartridge transport case 4 is moved from an arbitrary position (FIG. 7A) to the height of the cartridge to be removed (FIG. 7B). Next, the cartridge chuck 11 is opened by the cartridge chuck opening / closing solenoid (FIG. 7C), and the slide plate 10 is moved to the cartridge 8 side. When the slide plate 10 enters the gap between the cartridges and the cartridge chuck 11 comes to the rear of the cartridge (FIG. 7D), the cartridge chuck 11 is closed and the cartridge is taken in (FIG. 7).
(E)). Thereafter, the slide plate 10 is returned to the original position, and the loading of the cartridge is completed. When returning the cartridge 8 from the cartridge transport case 4 to the cartridge storage rack, this operation is performed in reverse.

Next, the operation for removing the cleaning tape 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. The cleaning tape 5 is arranged at the lower part of the apparatus. The mounting method at this time is shown in FIG. The cleaning tape 5 is fixed on a fixing base 18 by a fixing spring 19. The cartridge 8 is pressed against the fixed base by bending the distal end of the fixed spring 19 as shown in the figure.
A notch is provided at the rear of the fixed base to interfere with the cartridge chuck 11 of the cartridge transport case. Next, a series of operations when the cartridge transport case 4 takes in the cleaning tape 5 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the cartridge transport case 4 at an arbitrary position is moved to the vicinity of the cleaning tape 5 (FIG. 9A). Next, the cartridge chuck 11 is opened by the cartridge chuck opening / closing solenoid (FIG. 9B), and the cartridge transport case 4 is further moved downward (FIG. 9).
(C)). Here, the cartridge chuck 11 is closed and the cartridge 8 is taken in (FIG. 9D). When the cartridge transport case 4 is moved with the cartridge 8 taken in, the cleaning tape fixing spring is opened from the fixed state because it spreads as shown in FIG.
The acquisition ends as shown in (f). Cleaning tape 5 from cartridge storage case 4 to fixing table 18
When returning, the reverse operation is performed. Since the cleaning tape fixing spring 19 is bent so as to spread outward, even when the cleaning tape 5 is returned, FIG.
As shown in (e), it spreads and the reverse operation can be performed.

With this configuration, it is possible to arrange the cleaning tape on the front surface of the recording / reproducing drive on the path along which the cartridge carrying case moves.

[0015]

By constructing the above-mentioned cartridge autochanger, the cleaning tape can be stored without reducing the number of recording and reproducing tapes stored without changing the size of the apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing one embodiment of the present invention, and is a view for explaining a mounting position of a cleaning tape in a cartridge automatic changer.

FIG. 2 is an auto changer showing one embodiment of the present invention, and is a view for explaining loading of a storage rack storing cartridges.

FIG. 3 is an auto changer showing one embodiment of the present invention, and is a view for explaining a state in which a cartridge transport unit transports a recording / reproducing tape from a cartridge storage rack.

FIG. 4 is an auto changer showing one embodiment of the present invention, and is a view for explaining a state in which a cartridge conveying means conveys a cleaning tape.

FIG. 5 is an autochanger showing one embodiment of the present invention, and is a view for explaining a specific structural example of a cartridge conveying means.

FIG. 6 is an auto changer showing one embodiment of the present invention, and is a view for explaining a state in which a cartridge transport means takes in a recording / reproducing tape from a cartridge storage rack.

FIG. 7 is an autochanger showing one embodiment of the present invention, and is a view for explaining a state in which a recording / reproducing tape is taken in from a cartridge storage rack by a cartridge carrying means.

FIG. 8 is an autochanger showing one embodiment of the present invention, and is a view for explaining a state in which a cartridge conveying means takes in a cleaning tape from a cleaning tape fixing base.

FIG. 9 is an autochanger showing one embodiment of the present invention, and is a view for explaining a state in which the cartridge transport means takes in the cleaning tape from the cleaning tape fixing base.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Cartridge auto changer, 2 ... Recording / reproducing drive, 3 ... Cartridge storage rack, 4 ... Cartridge transport case, 5 ... Cleaning tape, 6 ... Rack loading mechanism, 7 ... Cartridge transport case drive mechanism, 8 ... Cartridge, 9 ... Cartridge transport case base, 10: Cartridge transport case slide plate, 11a, b: Cartridge chuck, 12a, b: Cartridge chuck open / close shaft, 13: Cartridge chuck open / close solenoid, 14a, b: Cartridge chuck biasing spring, 15: Motor Reference numeral 16: Arm, 17: Disk, 18: Cleaning tape fixing base, 19: Cleaning tape fixing spring, 20: Cartridge rack insertion opening, 21: Cartridge insertion opening.

Claims (3)

[Claims] A recording / reproducing drive corresponding to a cartridge tape using a tape as a recording medium is disposed in the apparatus, the apparatus has a storage space for storing a plurality of cartridges, and is stored in the apparatus. Among the cartridges, an arbitrary cartridge is selected and transported to the recording / reproducing drive, and a cartridge auto changer having transporting means for transporting the cartridge in the recording / reproducing drive to the storage space. The cartridges are stacked and arranged. The recording / reproducing drive and the cartridge storage space are arranged on the same straight line as the cartridge stacking direction. The cartridge transport means is movable in parallel with the direction in which the cartridges are stacked. Tape or head that has higher performance than other recording / playback tapes. A head cleaning tape having a high cleaning effect is disposed in the apparatus, and the head cleaning tape is disposed on a moving path along which the cartridge transport unit moves and at a portion other than the cartridge insertion port on the front surface of the recording / reproducing drive. A cartridge autochanger characterized by that: 2. A cartridge automatic changer according to claim 1, wherein said cartridge chuck mechanism of said transport means takes in a cartridge from at least two directions of a transport means moving direction and a vertical direction thereof. 3. The transporting means according to claim 1, wherein the transporting means includes a movable member movable in a direction for taking the cartridge in and out of the cartridge storage space from the transporting means; a cartridge chuck member mounted on the movable member; A solenoid for opening and closing the cartridge chuck member, a member for transmitting the operation of the solenoid to the cartridge chuck member, and a driving unit for operating the moving member are mounted, and a cartridge is taken in from the cartridge storage space. Moves the moving member in the direction of the cartridge storage space with the cartridge chuck member opened, closes the cartridge chuck member in the cartridge section and takes in the cartridge, and takes in the cleaning tape when the cleaning tape is taken in. Opening the cartridge chuck member without moving a moving member to move the transport unit in the cleaning tape direction, and closing the cartridge chuck member when the transport unit comes to the cleaning tape unit to take in a cartridge. A cartridge autochanger characterized by the following.