JPH11339347A - Changer device, and cleaning cassette managing method in the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform sure maintenance with a cleaning cassette in a changer device housing many tape cassettes. SOLUTION: A bar code stuck to a cleaning cassette has a title easily discriminated from other tape cassettes. When the door of a changer device is opened (S10), the bar code of a cassette in the default position of the cleaning cassette is read (S11), and when the cleaning cassette is identified (S14), its shelf is registered as a shelf for the cleaning cassette (S15). When the cleaning cassette is not identified, moving to another shelf a bar code is read (S16), and a shelf identified as one for the cleaning cassette is registered as such. When no cleaning cassette is found even by checking all the shelves (S17), warning is issued (S19).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is directed to recording and / or reproducing data by automatically exchanging a large number of stored tape cassettes, and to recognize and manage a cleaning cassette. The present invention relates to a changer device and a method of managing a cleaning cassette in the changer device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Digital data is recorded on a magnetic tape /
A tape streamer drive, which is a magnetic tape device for reproducing, has a huge recording capacity, and is therefore widely used for backing up data stored in a storage device such as a hard disk. Further, the tape streamer drive is suitable not only for backup but also for recording data of a large file such as moving image data.

As such a tape streamer drive, for example, a tape cassette similar to an 8 mm VTR tape cassette is used, and digital data is recorded / reproduced on a magnetic tape by a helical scan method using a rotary head. Have been put to practical use.

In such a tape streamer drive, as an input / output interface, for example, SCSI
(Small Computer System Interface) interface is used. At the time of recording, data is input from the host computer via the SCSI interface. This input data is sent in fixed-length block units. This input data is temporarily stored in the buffer memory by the tape streamer drive. The data stored in the buffer memory is sent to a recording / reproducing system for each predetermined group, and is recorded on a magnetic tape by a rotating head.
At the time of reproduction, the data on the magnetic tape is reproduced by the rotating head and is temporarily stored in the buffer memory. Data from the buffer memory is sent to the host computer via the SCSI interface.

Conventionally, there is a cassette changer using such a tape cassette. This has a rack capable of storing a plurality of tape streamer drives and a large number of tape cassettes, and automatically mounts a tape selected from these many tape cassettes to the drive, for example, at the request of the host computer. It reproduces and records data.

The cassette changer is provided with a slot for taking a tape cassette in and out of the cassette. For example, when a new tape cassette is inserted into this slot, the cassette is changed to a cassette changer. Is automatically set at a predetermined position in the box.

In such a data library, the tape cassette is frequently exchanged in the tape streamer drive to perform recording and reproduction, and is often operated continuously for a long time. Therefore, regular maintenance of the tape streamer drive is required.
As one of the maintenance methods, there is cleaning of the head of the tape streamer drive by a cleaning cassette.

The cleaning cassette is a tape cassette in which a dedicated tape for cleaning is used instead of, for example, a magnetic tape. This cleaning cassette is set in a tape streamer drive, and driven in the same manner as a normal magnetic tape tape cassette. Then, the head of the drive is polished with a cleaning tape to eliminate clogging of the head.

The part of the tape that has been cleaned is
The surface is rough due to head polishing. Therefore, in order to prevent the head from being damaged, the cleaning cassette is not rewound and used. For example, the number of times of use of the cleaning cassette is counted, and when the number of times of use exceeds a predetermined value, an alarm or the like is issued to urge replacement of the cleaning cassette.

[0010]

Conventionally, the maintenance using the cleaning cassette has been performed by setting a cleaning cycle and manually setting the cleaning cassette in a tape streamer drive for cleaning.

Conventionally, in order to save the labor of the manual operation, the maintenance by the cleaning cassette may be automatically performed by a host application, that is, an application in which the cassette changer is externally controlled and used. there were. In such a host application, for example, when the drive is used for a predetermined time or longer, an operation of automatically inserting a cleaning cassette is performed to perform cleaning.

In such a high-order application, handling of the cleaning cassette is determined independently. That is, how to use the cleaning cassette differs depending on the host application. For example, by inserting a cleaning cassette into a dedicated shelf determined by an application, the cleaning cassette is recognized and maintenance is performed.

This method cannot prevent a maintenance accident due to a user's mistake. For example, an accident that a normal tape cassette is put in a dedicated shelf of a cleaning cassette or a cleaning cassette is put in another shelf by mistake of a shelf specified by a host application cannot be prevented. That is, this method has a problem in that even with the support of a higher-level application, an accident due to a user's mistake cannot be completely prevented and causes a failure of the cassette changer.

In another method, an identification tag specified by an application, for example, a bar code is attached to a cleaning cassette in advance, and by reading this bar code, the cleaning cassette is found out from a shelf to perform maintenance.

However, this method has a problem in that even if the user replaces the cleaning cassette by opening the door of the cassette changer, for example, without managing the upper application, there is a problem that the user cannot recognize that. That is, even after a new cleaning cassette is inserted, it is added to the previous count value in a counter that counts the number of times the cleaning cassette has been used, for example. Therefore, there is a problem that, for example, an alarm for urging replacement of the cleaning cassette sounds before the new cleaning cassette is used up to the predetermined number of times.

In still another method, control of maintenance by a cleaning cassette is left to a lower cassette changer itself. In a cassette changer, for example, a cleaning cassette is placed in a predetermined dedicated shelf, and maintenance is performed at a predetermined time by a timer or the like on the changer side. However, this method also has a problem that a user may make an error when inserting the cleaning cassette into the dedicated shelf.

As is well known, a tape cassette has a plurality of holes called coding holes.
To some extent, the type of the tape cassette can be automatically determined. FIG. 7 shows an example of a coding hole provided in the tape cassette. A coding hole 202 including a plurality of holes is formed on the back surface 201 of the tape cassette 200. The type and mode of the tape are associated with each of the holes. For example, only a hole indicating the content corresponding to the tape was punched,
Other holes are closed. Then, when the tape cassette is mounted, it is possible to know the type and mode of the tape by checking whether or not the corresponding hole is punched using a pin or the like.

However, in order to determine the type of the tape cassette in the coding hole, there is a problem that the cassettes must be mounted one by one in a device for checking whether or not a hole is formed. That is, in a state where the tape cassette is stored on the shelf, it is not possible to determine the tape type by the coding hole.

Further, there is a problem that some tapes do not distinguish between a normal tape cassette and a cleaning cassette by a coding hole. When such a cleaning cassette is used, the cassette changer cannot identify the cleaning cassette.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a changer device and a method for managing a cleaning cassette in a changer device that can more reliably perform maintenance using a cleaning cassette.

[0021]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a tape changer apparatus for automatically exchanging a large number of stored tape cassettes for recording and / or reproducing. Identification means for identifying each of the cassettes, position information acquisition means for identifying the cleaning cassette by the identification means and acquiring position information of the identified cleaning cassette, and position storage means for storing position information of the cleaning cassette A changer device characterized in that:

According to the present invention, there is provided a method for managing a cleaning cassette in a changer apparatus in which recording and / or reproduction is performed by automatically exchanging a large number of stored tape cassettes. And a step of obtaining the position information of the cleaning cassette by identifying the cleaning cassette by the step of identifying, and a step of storing the position of the cleaning cassette. Cleaning cassette management method in the changer device described above.

As described above, according to the present invention, the cleaning cassette is identified by the identification means for identifying each of the tape cassettes, and the position information of the identified cleaning cassette is acquired and stored. Can be managed.

[0024]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an external view of an example of a changer device 100 to which the present invention can be applied. This changer device 100 is, for example,
It has a bin 101 capable of storing zero tape cassettes, and a plurality of tape streamer drives 102 for recording / reproducing the tape cassettes. The bin 101
Can be prepared in even larger numbers.

A plurality of shelves are provided in the bin 101, and a tape cassette is stored in each of the shelves. Bin 101
Each of the tape cassettes stored in each of the tape cassettes can be distinguished from each other. For example, a unique title is assigned to each of the tape cassettes, the title is converted into a barcode, printed, and affixed to a predetermined position of the tape cassette. The present invention is not limited to this method. For example, a nonvolatile memory may be incorporated in each of the tape cassettes, and titles may be stored in this memory.

The tape streamer drive 102 is of a helical scan type in which a head attached to a rotating drum forms a track obliquely to a magnetic tape stored in a tape cassette. The input and output of data in the tape streamer 102 are performed by, for example, SCSI.

The tape cassette stored in the bin 101 is taken out by a hand mechanism 104 attached to an elevator 103 movable up, down, left and right, and moved to a predetermined position by the elevator 103. In addition,
The door 105 is opened and closed by a door sensor SW described later.

The entire changer device 100 is a CP
It is controlled by the U unit 106. Details of the CPU unit 106 will be described later. The CPU unit 106 is provided with an interface for connecting to and communicating with an external computer or the like. The external host computer can control the changer device 100 through the interface and the CPU unit 106. The power supply unit 107 supplies a predetermined power to each part of the changer device 100.

FIG. 2 shows the elevator 103 in more detail. In FIG. 2, the hand mechanism 104 is omitted. The elevator 103 is provided with, for example, a slit 110 at the center. Then, as indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 2, a bar code reader 111 is attached to a predetermined position of a slit 110 provided in the elevator 103. The mounting position of the barcode reader 111 is, for example, a position where a barcode written at a predetermined position of the tape cassette can be read while the tape cassette is held by a hand mechanism 104 (not shown). If necessary, the mounting position of the barcode reader 111 is adjusted using a mirror or the like.

The bar code reader 111 is connected to the cable 11
In step 2, a read signal read by the barcode reader 111 is sent to the CPU unit 106.

The changer apparatus 100 is provided with a slot (not shown) for automatically inserting and removing a tape cassette. The tape cassette can be automatically stored in the bin 101 by inserting the tape cassette into this slot from the outside. Further, the tape cassette stored in the bin 101 can be ejected from this slot by a predetermined operation.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of the CPU unit 106 described above. CPU2, ROM for bus 1
3, and the RAM 4 are connected. The ROM 3 stores, for example, program data for the CPU 2 in advance, and the RAM 4 is used, for example, as a work memory of the CPU 2. The memory 7 is connected to the CPU 2. The memory 7 is always backed up by, for example, a battery (not shown), and the data is nonvolatile. The memory 7 stores, for example, the position and title of the tape cassette stored in the bin 101.

For bus 1, buffer 5 and EMC
The display unit 12 and the PIO (Par
allel I / O) 11 is connected. PIO11 has LE
The D display unit 13A and the switch unit 13B are connected. The EMC filter is a filter for removing electromagnetic interference and the like, and includes a plurality of independent paths.

The display unit 12 is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crys).
tal Display), and includes a display control unit for controlling display. The display unit 12 performs display based on a display command supplied from the CPU 2. LED display section 13A
For example, a plurality of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) for displaying various states of the changer device 100 are provided.
The display of each LED is controlled on the basis of the signal from.
Further, the switch unit 13B is provided with various switches for operating each unit of the changer device 100, and a signal based on the operation is supplied to the CPU 2.

The buffer 5 includes an EMC filter 10
Is connected to the barcode reader 20 via the. This barcode reader 20 is the same as the barcode reader 111 described above.
It corresponds to. The read signal output from the bar code reader 20 is supplied to the bus 1 via the EMC filter 10 and the buffer 5, and
Supplied to

The bus 1 is connected to a sensor I / F 6 which interfaces with sensors provided at various parts of the changer device 100. Sensor I / F6 is EMC
Through the filter 10, the door 1 of the changer device 100
05 is connected to a door SW sensor 21 for detecting the open / close state of the door 05. The door SW sensor 21 includes, for example, a microswitch provided at a hinge of the door 105. The detection result by the door SW sensor 21 is supplied to the bus 1 via the EMC filter 10 and the sensor I / F 6, and is supplied from the bus 1 to the CPU 2.

The sensor I / F includes an EMC filter 1
0 is connected to the sensor unit 22. In this FIG.
The sensor unit 22 represents a sensor of each unit in the changer device 100, and includes, for example, a positioning sensor of the elevator 103, a sensor of the hand mechanism 104, and the like. The detection result of each sensor included in the sensor unit 22 is:
The signal is supplied to the bus 1 via the EMC filter 10 and the sensor I / F 6, and is supplied from the bus 1 to the CPU 2.

A motor driver 31 is connected to the bus 1 via a PIO 30. The motor driver 31
The motor unit 23 is connected via the EMC filter 10. In FIG. 3, the motor unit 23 includes the changer device 1.
00 represents a motor of each section, and includes, for example, a motor for moving the elevator 103.

The CPU unit 106 can communicate with the outside using various interfaces.
Communication by RS-232C can be performed via a terminal 34 by an SIO (Serial I / O) 32 and a driver 33 connected to the bus 1. The communication by RS-232C is performed by the memory 38 and the sub CPU connected to the bus 1.
39 and the driver 40.

The SCSI controller 35 and the SCSI driver 36 connected to the bus 1 can communicate with each other via the terminal 37 via SCSI.
For example, the SCSI terminal of the host computer and this SC
The terminal 37 by the SI is connected, and communication is performed between the changer 100 and the host computer.

The tape streamer drive 102 and the CPU unit 106 are connected to each other via a terminal 43 so that the drive 102 and the CPU 2 can communicate with each other.

The changer device 100 is connected to, for example, a host computer 150 as shown in FIG. Host computer 150 and CPU unit 106
Are connected by, for example, the SCSI via the terminal 37, and commands are exchanged. At the same time, the host computer 150 and the tape streamer drive 102
Connected by CSI, data is exchanged. The changer device 100 is controlled and used by a higher-order application 151 mounted on the host computer 150.

For example, from the application 151 to the changer device 100 (CPU unit 106),
The instruction to reproduce the data of the specified tape cassette is SCS
Sent over I. Based on this instruction, a predetermined tape is selected by the CPU unit 106, and the bar code 160 attached to the tape cassette is
1 (20) scanned and read. Thus, the title of the tape is confirmed, the tape cassette is set in the tape streamer drive 102, and the data is reproduced. The reproduced data is transferred to the host computer 150 via SCSI.

In the changer apparatus 100, a cleaning cassette is used to maintain the head of the tape streamer drive 102. The cleaning cassette is housed in a bin 101 and used like a normal tape cassette using a magnetic tape.

As described above, for example, a bar code is attached to each of the tape cassettes stored in the bin 101 so that they can be distinguished from each other. Therefore, in this embodiment, a predetermined title is given to the cleaning cassette, this title is converted into a bar code, and attached to the cleaning cassette. More preferably, the title is such that the cleaning cassette and other ordinary tape cassettes can be easily identified. For example, a character string that is not usually used, such as “ClearNingTaPe”, is used.

A cleaning cassette is prepared in this way, and in the changer device 100, for example, the door 1
When 05 is closed, the bar code 160 of the tape cassette stored in the bin 101 is read. And
The tape cassette is sequentially checked to find a shelf in which the cleaning cassette is stored, and if found, the shelf is registered so as to be used exclusively for the cleaning cassette.

The registration process will be described below. First, a description will be given of a process when only one cleaning cassette is used in the changer apparatus 100. FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of an example of this processing.
First, in the bin 101, a shelf for accommodating the cleaning cassette is set in advance, and stored in, for example, the memory 7 as a default position of the cleaning cassette shelf. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the position information of the shelf in which the cleaning cassette was stored in the previous process may be stored, and the stored shelf may be used as the cleaning cassette shelf.

If it is detected in the first step S10 that the door 105 has been closed, the process proceeds to the next step S1.
Then, the process proceeds to 1 and the barcode 160 of the tape cassette on the cleaning cassette shelf in the bin 101 is read. That is, in step S11, the elevator 103 is moved to the designated position, the tape cassette on the shelf is held by the hand mechanism 104, and the barcode 1 stuck on the tape cassette by the barcode reader 111.
60 is read. The read information is sent to the CPU 2. Hereinafter, the bar code 160 of the tape cassette
Are read in a similar procedure.

In the next step S12, step S11
Then, it is determined whether or not any tape cassette is stored in the shelf from which the barcode 160 has been read. If the tape cassette does not exist on the shelf, a warning is issued in step S13 to the effect that the cleaning cassette does not exist on the shelf. Then, the process proceeds to step S16, and reads the barcode 160 of another cassette, for example, the tape cassette of the next shelf.

The warning is performed by, for example, the display unit 12 or the LED.
This is performed by performing a predetermined display on the display unit 13A.
The invention is not limited to this, and a warning may be issued by sound using a buzzer, a speaker, or the like (not shown).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S12 that some tape cassette exists on the shelf, the process proceeds to step S14, where the title indicates a value indicating the cleaning cassette based on the read barcode information. It is checked whether it is "ClearNingTaPe". If the title is a value indicating the cleaning cassette, the shelf is registered in the system as a cleaning cassette shelf in the next step S15, and a series of processes is ended.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S14 that the title of the tape cassette is not a value indicating the cleaning cassette based on the read barcode information, the process proceeds to step S16. Then, it moves to another shelf, for example, an adjacent shelf, and performs a process of reading the barcode 160 of the tape cassette stored in that shelf.

In step S17, it is determined whether the barcodes of the tape cassettes stored in all the shelves in the bin 101 have been read. If there is a shelf that has not been read yet, for example, the elevator 103 is moved to another shelf in step S18, and the process returns to step S12. Then, the barcode 160 of the tape cassette stored in the shelf is read.

On the other hand, in step S17, bin 101 has already been set.
If it is determined that all the shelves have been checked, the process proceeds to step S19. And the changer device 10
At 0, a warning is issued that the cleaning cassette is not prepared, and the series of processes is terminated.

In the changer device 100, a plurality of cleaning cassettes may be used. FIG.
9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a registration process of a shelf dedicated to a cleaning cassette when a plurality of cleaning cassettes are used. When a plurality of cleaning cassettes are used, a title that can be easily recognized as a cleaning cassette and that can distinguish each of the plurality of cleaning cassettes from each other is used. For example, the title “C” indicating the cleaning cassette
"leaNingTaPe" followed by a number, and "C
"leaNingTaPe1", "ClearNingTa"
Pe2 "," ClearNingTaPe3 ", ... are the titles of the respective cleaning cassettes.

First, in the first step S30, the door 10
When it is detected that the cleaning cassette 5 has been closed, the process proceeds to the next step S31, where the bar code 16
0 is read.

In this case, there are a plurality of cleaning cassette shelves, but the position of the cleaning cassette shelves is set in advance as a default position, as in the case of using only one cleaning cassette.
Respectively. The present invention is not limited to this, and the respective shelves where the cleaning cassette was present when this processing was performed last time may be used as the cleaning cassette shelves.

In the next step S32, step S31
Then, it is determined whether or not any tape cassette is stored in the shelf from which the barcode 160 has been read. If the tape cassette does not exist on the shelf, a warning is issued in step S33 that the cleaning cassette does not exist on the predetermined shelf. The warning is given by a predetermined display on the display unit 12 or the LED display unit 13A, for example. Then, the process proceeds to step S36, and a reading process of the bar code 160 of the tape cassette of the next shelf which has been set as the cleaning cassette shelf is performed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S32 that any tape cassette exists on the shelf, the process proceeds to step S34, where the title indicates a value indicating the cleaning cassette based on the read barcode information, in this example, It is checked whether it is "ClearNingTaPe *". Note that “*” is an arbitrary number provided to distinguish the cleaning cassettes from each other.

If it is determined in step S34 that the title is a value indicating a cleaning cassette, the shelf is registered in the system as a cleaning cassette shelf in the next step S35. For example, the cleaning cassette shelf is registered by storing the position information of the shelf in the memory 7. When the registration is performed in this manner, the process proceeds to step S36. In step S36, the barcode 160 of the tape cassette of the next shelf set as the cleaning cassette shelf is read.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S34 that the title of the tape cassette is not a value indicating the cleaning cassette based on the read barcode information, the process proceeds to step S33, and the cleaning cassette does not exist on the predetermined shelf. A warning is issued and step S36
Then, the barcode 160 of the tape cassette of the next shelf set as the cleaning cassette shelf is read.

In step S37 following step S36,
The bar code 160 of the tape cassette is used for all the shelves that are the cleaning cassette shelves in the bin 101.
Is determined. If it is determined that there is a shelf that has not been read yet, the process returns to step S32, and a process of reading the bar code 160 of the tape cassette is performed for all the cleaning cassette shelves.

On the other hand, in step S37, bin 101 has already been set.
In, if it is determined that all the shelves set as cleaning cassette shelves have been checked, the process proceeds to step S38. In step S38, it is determined whether or not the barcode 160 of the stored tape cassette has been read for another shelf that is not a cleaning cassette shelf. If all of the other shelves have not been checked, the barcode reading process is performed by moving to another shelf (step S39). That is, the process returns to step S32, and the process of reading the barcode 160 of the tape cassette is performed for all other shelves.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S38 that all the bar codes 160 of the tape cassettes on the other shelves have been checked, the process proceeds to step S40. Step S40
Then, it is determined whether or not there is a cleaning cassette shelf and another shelf, that is, a shelf in which the cleaning cassette is stored among all the shelves in the bin 101.

If it is determined in step S40 that there is a shelf accommodating the cleaning cassette among all the shelves in the bin 101, the process proceeds to step S41.
In step S41, all the shelves storing the cleaning cassette are displayed on the display unit 12 or the LED display unit 13A.
And the position information of the shelf is stored in the memory 7, for example. Thereby, the cleaning cassette shelf is registered in the system.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S40 that the cleaning cassette is not on any shelf in the bin 101, the process proceeds to step S42. In step S42, a warning is issued to the effect that a cleaning cassette has not been prepared in the changer apparatus 100, and a series of processing is ended.

In the above description, the process is started by closing the door 105 as in step S10 in FIG. 4 and step S30 in FIG. 5, but this is not limited to this example. For example, the power of the changer apparatus 100 may be turned on, and the processing may be automatically started to register the cleaning cassette shelf. Also,
The processing can also be started by operating the switch unit 13B provided in the changer device 100 or by a command from an external computer connected as a host. Of course, these methods can be used in combination.

In the above description, the barcode 160 is read from the tape cassette already stored in the bin 101, but this is not limited to this example. For example, it is more preferable to perform a barcode reading process on a tape cassette inserted from a tape cassette insertion slot (not shown) and newly stored in the bin 101. If the cleaning cassette is determined to be the cleaning cassette based on the result of reading the barcode 160, the shelf in which the tape cassette is stored is registered as the cleaning cassette shelf.

Further, in the above description, a predetermined title is converted into a bar code on a tape cassette and affixed thereto, and the cleaning cassette is determined by reading the bar code 160. However, this is an example. Not limited. For example, a coding hole provided in a tape cassette may be used as the determination unit. Further, a non-volatile memory may be built in the tape cassette, and the discrimination information of the tape cassette stored in the non-volatile memory may be used.

When a non-volatile memory is incorporated in the tape cassette, a counter for the number of times the tape cassette has been used can be incorporated in the non-volatile memory. Then, for example, in the above-described processing, in FIG.
4. In FIG. 5, the value of this counter is read in step S34. Based on the read count value, it is detected whether the cleaning cassette has been used up or how many times it can be used later. Based on this detection result, the changer device 100
, A warning or the like can be displayed. Of course, the display based on the detection result is displayed on the changer device 1.
00 connected to the host computer 150.

The counting of the number of times the cleaning cassette is used can be applied to the case where the cleaning cassette is identified by the barcode 160. In this case, the count value is stored in the memory 7 inside the changer device 100.

In this embodiment, the changer device 1
00 itself identifies the shelf in which the cleaning cassette is stored. Therefore, the changer device 100
It is easy to hide the shelf in which the cleaning cassette is stored from the host computer 150 connected to the computer. For example, external access to the tape cassette stored in the cleaning cassette shelf is prohibited. This prevents the cleaning cassette from being used by the instruction of the application 151.

In the changer device 100, a sequence may be set so that the barcodes 106 of all the tape cassettes in the bin 101 are read after the door 105 is closed or when the power is turned on. . The read barcode information is stored in the memory 7 of the changer device 100, for example. In this case, as in the processing described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 described above, the barcode is not read one by one, and the barcode information stored in the memory 7 is used as a cleaning cassette in advance. It is possible to search for a tape cassette having a predetermined title and to register a cleaning cassette shelf.

[0074]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to automatically know whether or not the cleaning cassette is stored in the changer device and the storage position of the cleaning cassette without any omission. Therefore, there is an effect that the user of the changer device according to the present invention can load the cleaning cassette on the shelf without being conscious of the shelf dedicated to the cleaning cassette. This also has the effect of preventing mistakes in loading shelves or cassettes by mistake.

Further, according to the present invention, since the cleaning cassette is determined using the bar code reader already provided in the changer device, there is no need to use a new recognition device or a new recognition tag. .

Further, according to the present invention, since the position of the shelf in which the cleaning cassette is stored is detected, for example, the position of the cleaning cassette can be recognized on the application side of the host computer.
Since the shelf on which the cleaning cassette is stored on the changer device side can be made unusable from the application side, it is possible to prevent a normal tape cassette from being erroneously inserted into the cleaning cassette shelf by the application. effective.

Further, by using a non-volatile memory built in the cassette in place of the bar code for recognizing the cleaning cassette, it is possible to provide a counter for the number of times the cleaning cassette is used. Based on this, the changer device itself can recognize the used cleaning cassette and the number of remaining uses, and the like, and can further reduce erroneous insertion.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an appearance of an example of a changer device to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the elevator in more detail.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a CPU unit.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a usage form of the changer device.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a cleaning cassette shelf registration process.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a cleaning cassette shelf registration process.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a coding hole.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... CPU, 7 ... memory, 12 ... display unit,
13A: LED display unit, 20, 111: bar code reader, 21: door SW sensor, 35: S
CSI controller, 36 ... SCSI driver, 1
00: changer device, 101: bin, 103
... Elevator, 104 ... Hand, 105 ...
Door, 106 CPU unit, 150 host computer, 151 application, 16
0 ... bar code

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A changer apparatus for automatically exchanging a large number of stored tape cassettes to perform recording and / or reproduction, comprising: identification means for identifying each of the tape cassettes; Identify,
A changer device comprising: position information obtaining means for obtaining position information of the identified cleaning cassette; and position storage means for storing position information of the cleaning cassette. 2. The changer device according to claim 1, wherein said position information acquiring means identifies said cleaning cassette by said identifying means from a predetermined position, and said cleaning cassette at said predetermined position. A changer that identifies the cleaning cassette at a position different from the predetermined position when the cleaning cassette is not identified. 3. The changer device according to claim 1, further comprising open / close detecting means for detecting opening / closing of a door for opening a front surface, wherein the position information acquisition by the position information acquiring means includes the opening / closing detection. The changer device is executed when the door is closed based on a detection result by the means. 4. The changer device according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition of the position information by the position information acquisition means is performed when power is turned on. 5. The changer device according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition of the position information by the position information acquisition means is performed when the tape cassette is inserted from outside. 6. A method for managing a cleaning cassette in a changer device, in which recording and / or reproduction is performed by automatically exchanging a large number of stored tape cassettes, an identification step for identifying each of the tape cassettes; A step of acquiring a position information of the cleaning cassette identified by identifying the cleaning cassette by the step of identifying, and a step of storing position information of the position of the cleaning cassette. Cleaning cassette management method in a changer device.