JPH11273217A - Recording medium cartridge library device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording medium cartridge library device capable of moving other conveying holders simultaneously even when the jump out state of a cartridge accompanied by the feeding operation of a conveying holder is detected. SOLUTION: When the jump out state of a cartridge is detected by cartridge jump out detecting means 1a, 1b for detecting that recording cartridges c, c' exist among a housing body 4 or drives 5a, 5b and conveying holders 3a, 3b, a control means 10 judges whether this state is an abnormal state or a normal state. When the state is an abnormal state, the control means 10 does not perform moving operations of the conveying holders and when the state is a normal state, it performs moving operations of the conveying holders. In short, when the jump out of the cartridge is judged that it is caused by the jump out (the normal state) accompanied by the feeding operation of either of conveying holders being in a feeding operation, other conveying holders existing along a common conveying path are simultaneously moved to be used.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cartridge transport device in a recording medium cartridge library device, and more particularly to a cartridge transport device having a plurality of transport holders.
By operating each transport holder at the same time, the transport holder can be operated efficiently.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording medium cartridge library device (hereinafter simply referred to as a library device) accommodates a recording medium cartridge (hereinafter simply referred to as a cartridge) such as an optical disk or a magnetic tape, and automatically drives the cartridge (hereinafter referred to as a cartridge). Reading or writing).
In general, a library device includes a storage body including a plurality of storage cells for storing cartridges, and a drive for reading or writing the cartridges.
A transport mechanism for transporting the cartridge between the storage cell and the drive. The transport mechanism,
A transport holder for detachably holding a cartridge to be transported, and a transport path for moving the transport holder between the storage body and the drive or the like are provided. In addition, there is a so-called "double accessor" type library device which uses a transport mechanism having two transport holders provided in parallel with each other in order to improve the processing capability of the library device. Each transport holder is movably mounted on a common transport path, but can be moved along the transport path independently of the other transport holder via individual movement driving means.

In such a library apparatus, when a part of the cartridge protrudes from the storage cell or the drive or the like, that is, the cartridge is located between the storage cell or the drive and the transfer holder. When the transfer holder is moved (for example, when the cartridge is not properly inserted into the storage cell, the drive, or the transfer holder, as in C ′ in FIG. 1), The cartridge and the transport holder will collide, which is inconvenient for the library apparatus. Therefore, in a conventional library apparatus having a plurality of transfer holders such as a “double accessor” type, if the cartridge exists between the storage body or the drive and the transfer holder, all the transfer holders are required. Could not be moved.

[0004]

As described above, in a recording medium cartridge library apparatus having a plurality of transport holders and a transport path common to the plurality of transport holders, when each transport holder is to be moved. In addition, when the cartridge is in the protruding state, the movement of the transfer holder is not started or the movement of the transfer holder is stopped. When the cartridge is in the protruding state, when the cartridge is not properly inserted into the storage cell or the drive or the transport holder (in the case of C ′ shown in FIG. 1), and when the storage cell or the drive and the drive There is a case where a delivery operation of the cartridge (hereinafter, referred to as a feed operation) is performed with the transport holder. In the former case, the library device is in an abnormal state, whereas in the latter case, it is in a normal operation state. As described above, in the related art, even in the latter normal state, that is, even when the feed operation is performed by at least one transport holder, the feed operation ends even if the other transport holder is moved. Will not be able to move. Therefore, even when at least one transport holder is performing a feeding operation (normal state), another transport holder cannot be moved, and a plurality of transport holders cannot be used efficiently. There was a point. Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above points, and distinguishes between an abnormal state and a normal state, so that the normal state, that is, at least one of the transport holders is performing a feeding operation. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording medium cartridge library device capable of moving and using another transport holder at the same time when a protruding state of the accompanying cartridge is detected.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a storage unit comprising a plurality of storage cells for storing a recording medium cartridge, and a drive for reading or writing the recording medium cartridge. And a plurality of transport holders for transporting the recording medium cartridge to a desired position by detachably holding and moving the recording medium cartridge and transferring the cartridge to or from the storage cell or the drive. ,
A common transport path for transporting the plurality of transport holders, cartridge pop-out detection means for detecting the presence of a recording medium cartridge between the storage body or the drive and the transport holder, and the cartridge If the recording medium cartridge is detected by the pop-out detection unit, control is performed to permit the transport operation of another transport holder along the common transport path on condition that the cartridge is being delivered by one of the transport holders. And a recording medium cartridge library device comprising:

For example, in a library apparatus such as the above-mentioned "double accessor" type, when the cartridge pop-out detecting means detects the pop-out state of the cartridge, the control means causes any one of the transport holders to feed the cartridge. If it is determined that the operation is being performed and that the operation is associated with the feed operation (that is, a normal operation state), the movement operation of another transport holder along the common transport path can be permitted. Become like That is, when the cartridge pop-out state is detected, it is determined whether the state is an abnormal state (ie, when the feeding operation is not being performed) or a normal state (ie, when the feeding operation is being performed).
If it is determined that the library device is in an abnormal state, it is inconvenient for the library apparatus to move the transport holder. Therefore, the transport holder needs to be in a stopped state, and cannot perform a moving operation. However, if it is determined that the state is normal, no problem occurs even if the moving operation of the transport holder is performed. Therefore, the transfer holder can be moved. As described above, according to the present invention, in the library device, by distinguishing between the abnormal state and the normal state, the normal state, that is, at least one of the transport holders is performing the feeding operation. When the pop-out state of the cartridge is detected, another transport holder can be moved and used at the same time, so that the transport holder can be used efficiently.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an overall configuration example of a recording medium cartridge library device to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. The library device includes a storage unit 4 including a plurality of storage cells 4a for storing the cartridge C.
And reading or writing of the cartridge C (hereinafter referred to as
It is simply called reading and writing. Multiple drives 5 to do)
a and 5b, each of which transports the cartridge C to a desired position by removably holding and moving the cartridge C, and moving the storage cell 4a or the drive 5a, 5a or 5b.
b, a plurality of transfer holders 3a and 3b for transferring the cartridge C to and from the transfer holders 3a and 3b.
a transport path 6 common to each transport holder for transporting b
Cartridge pop-out detecting means 1 for detecting the presence of the cartridge C between the storage body 4 or the drives 5a, 5b and the transport holders 3a, 3b.
a and 1b, and a control unit 10 for controlling the overall operation of the library device.

The cartridge pop-out detecting means 1a,
1b is constituted by, for example, an optical sensor including a light transmitting element 1a and a light receiving element 1b. In such a case, it is detected that the cartridge is in the protruding state because the light emitted from the light transmitting element 1a is detected by the cartridge C ′.
This is a case where the light receiving element 1b cannot reach the light receiving element 1b because of the interruption (see FIG. 1). Next, the control unit 10 includes an MPU (micro processing unit) not shown,
It is constituted by a microcomputer including a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory) and the like, and has a function of performing overall control of the library device. For example, the controller 10 controls the transfer holder 3b even when the cartridge jump-out detecting means 1a, 1b detects the pop-out state of the cartridge C accompanying the feed operation during the feed operation by one of the transfer holders 3a. The control function for controlling the movement of the transport holder 3b is performed so as to move.

In the library apparatus, in order to perform the reading / writing process of the cartridge, the transport holders 3a, 3a
b, it is necessary to carry the cartridge between the storage cell 4a and the drives 5a and 5b. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a flowchart of the entire reading / writing process of the cartridge. To perform the reading and writing process of the cartridge, the storage cells 4 are transported by the transport holders 3a and 3b.
drive 5a, 5b
Need to be transported to Therefore, in order to take out the cartridge to be read / written from the predetermined storage cell 4a, the transport holders 3a and 3b are moved to the specified storage cell 4a.
To take out the cartridge (step S1).
Next, the transfer holders 3a and 3b are moved to the drives 5a and 5b to read and write the removed cartridge, and the cartridge is inserted into the drives 5a and 5b (step S2). After inserting the cartridge into the drives 5a and 5b, reading and writing are performed (step S3). When reading / writing to the cartridge is completed, the drive 5a,
It is necessary to transport the cartridge inserted into the storage cell 4a to the predetermined storage cell 4a. Therefore, after the reading and writing are completed, the transport holders 3a and 3b are moved from the drives 5a and 5b to the predetermined storage cells 4a, so that the drives 5a and 5b are moved.
Then, the cartridge is taken out from the cartridge and stored in a predetermined storage cell 4a (steps S4 to S5).

In order to move the transfer holders 3a and 3b as described above, it is necessary to perform control to move the transfer holders 3a and 3b at least along the transfer path 6 in the vertical direction (that is, in the vertical direction). . Further, when the transport path 6 itself can be moved in the horizontal direction (that is, in the left-right direction), it is necessary to control the horizontal movement of the transport path 6, but this will not be described in detail.

Next, for example, a case where a cartridge is already read / written by using the transport holder 3a and the drive 5a, and simultaneously read / write of another cartridge by using the transport holder 3b and the drive 5b. Control of the vertical movement of the transport holder 3b when performing the processing will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a flowchart performed for starting the vertical movement in the movement control of the transport holder 3b started by each step other than the step S3 in FIG.

In step S11, the transport holder 3b
Before the is moved, it is checked whether or not the cartridge is in the protruding state based on the outputs of the cartridge pop-out detecting means 1a and 1b. If the cartridge is not in the protruding state (NO in step S11), the flow proceeds to step S12, and the movement of the transport holder 3b is started.
When the cartridge is in the protruding state (step S1)
(1) YES, if the operation is other than the feed operation by the transport holder 3a, the movement of the transport holder 3b must not be started, so go to step S14 to check whether the transport holder 3a is performing the feed operation. I do. In step S14, when the transport holder 3a is performing the feeding operation (YES in step S14), the process returns to step S11, and the loop of steps S11 and S14 is repeated, so that the transport holder 3b is moved until the feeding operation is completed. Keep waiting without starting the movement. In that case, when the feeding operation of the transport holder 3a ends,
Since the cartridge is no longer in the protruding state, step S11 is NO and the process proceeds to step S12. On the other hand, when the transport holder 3a is not performing the feeding operation (NO in step S14), the cartridge is ejected due to a cause other than the feeding operation (that is, an abnormal state). Then, in step S19, a transfer holder movement stop process is performed, and thus the transfer holder 3b is stopped, and the process is terminated as abnormal.

Even after the movement of the transport holder 3b has started,
If the cartridge is in a protruding state other than by the feed operation, it is necessary to stop the movement of the transport holder 3b and end the process. Therefore, in step S13, it is checked whether the cartridge is in a protruding state. If the cartridge is in the protruding state (YES), the flow goes to step S15 to check whether or not the cartridge is due to the feed operation. If the cartridge is not in the protruding state (NO), step S
Then, the process proceeds to step S17 to continue the movement of the transport holder 3b. In step S15, when the cartridge is in the ejected state due to the feed operation (Y in step S15).
ES) is a normal state, and there is no need to stop the movement of the transport holder 3b. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S17, and the movement is continued as it is. However, if it is not due to the feed operation (NO in step S15), the process is in an abnormal state, so the processes in steps S16 and S19 are performed, the transport holder 3b is stopped, and the process is terminated as abnormal.

The moving transport holder 3b is located at a position for storing a cartridge (ie, a drive or a storage cell).
And must stop when it reaches the position. Therefore, it is checked whether or not the transport holder 3b has reached the stop position (step S1).
8). If the stop position has been reached (YES), there is no need to move the transport holder 3b any further, so the process goes to step S19, where the transport holder 3b is stopped and the process is terminated. However, if the stop position has not been reached (NO), the transport holder 3b is not moved until the stop position is reached.
Must be moved, so N in step S18
Returning from step O to step S13, the movement is continued by repeating the above processing.

As described above, according to the present invention, in a recording medium cartridge library device having a plurality of transport holders and a transport path common to the plurality of transport holders,
Even in the case where at least one of the transport holders is in the cartridge popping state due to the feed operation, the control means can control the operation of another transport holder without reflecting the cartridge popping state. Therefore, even in the case where the cartridge is protruding due to the cartridge transfer operation (feed operation) by at least one transfer holder, the transfer operation can be performed without stopping the transfer operation of another transfer holder along the common transfer path. Thus, the effect that the transfer holder can be used efficiently can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing an overall configuration example of a recording medium cartridge library device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an entire cartridge read / write process performed by a control unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a vertical movement process of a transport holder performed by a control unit according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1a, 1b ... pop-out detection means, 3a, 3b ...
Transport holder, 4 ... storage body, 4a ... storage cell, 5
a, 5b: drive, 6: transport path, 10:
Control unit, C, C '... recording medium cartridge

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Taizo Hori 3-16-3 Higashi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside Hitachi Electronics Engineering Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A storage body comprising a plurality of storage cells for storing a recording medium cartridge, and a drive for reading or writing the recording medium cartridge, each of which holds and detachably moves the recording medium cartridge. A plurality of transport holders for transporting the cartridge to a desired position and transferring the cartridge to or from the storage cell or the drive; and a common transport path for transporting the plurality of transport holders. Cartridge ejection detecting means for detecting the presence of a recording medium cartridge between the housing or the drive and the transport holder; and when the recording medium cartridge is detected by the cartridge ejection detecting means, Receiving the recording medium cartridge by the transport holder. Subject to the limitation that in passing operation, the common recording medium cartridge library apparatus and control means for permitting the transport operation of other transport holder along the conveying path.