JPS59213061A - Collective cartridge storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To execute quickly an automatic release or a manual release from various faulty states by sticking a label on which a visible cartridge consecutive number is mentioned, to the surface of a cartridge, scanning it by a label reading circuit provided on an accessor, and reading the consecutive number concerned at a high speed. CONSTITUTION:A label 43 on which a specific identifying consecutive number CSN is mentioned is stuck to each cartridge, and a cell address shown by orthogonal coordinates of X and Y is given to a cartridge cell 40. By a correspondence of this cell address and the CSN, all cartridges in a cartridge containing shelf 3 are managed. The CSN of the label 43 is read by a label reading part 27 and outputted as an electric signal to a recognition processing circuit 22 of an accessor controller. Accordingly, when an erroneous positioning of an accessor, abnormality of a cartridge containing state, or abnormality such as an error in writing, an omission, etc. in a cartridge management table is generated, the correspondence of the CSN and the cell address of all cartridges is checked immediately, a dissidence state against the cartridge management table can be grasped in a short time, and an abnormal state of this kind can be released quickly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a collective cartridge storage device that automates the selection, transfer, and storage of a large number of removable recording media (hereinafter referred to as cartridges), and particularly relates to a cartridge storage device that automates the selection, transportation, and storage of a large number of removable recording media (hereinafter referred to as cartridges). The present invention relates to a collective cartridge storage device having a label affixed thereto and equipped with recognition means for reading the label at high speed.

Prior Art and Problems As a conventional collective cartridge storage device, MazeSt
There is a device called orage System (hereinafter referred to as MSS). This is a device in which a large number of cartridges containing 2.75-inch magnetic tapes are assembled on a storage shelf, and the selection, transfer, and storage of cartridges and cartridge management are automated. In this type of device, each cartridge is given a unique identification symbol, and the correspondence between the position of the cartridge storage cell in the cartridge storage shelf, that is, the cell address, and the identification symbol of the cartridge stored there is always known. It is important to perform cartridge management accurately in terms of the integrity of stored information. A typical identification symbol is a cartridge serial number (hereinafter referred to as C5N), and in the following description, C5N will be used.

Figure 1 shows a conventional collective cartridge storage device, MSS.
In this block diagram, 1 is a host controller, 2 is a recording unit, 3 is a cartridge storage shelf, 4 is an access controller, and 12 is an accessor.

Based on a cartridge access command issued from the host controller 1, the accessor 12 operates under the control of the accessor controller 4, and retrieves the specified cartridge in the cartridge storage cell at the specified cell address in the cartridge storage shelf 3. Select it, transfer it while holding it, and attach it to the recording unit 2. Next, when the reading and writing of data is completed, the accessor 12 operates again, removes the cartridge from the recording unit 2, and transports it while gripping it into the cartridge storage cell at the original cell address in the cartridge storage shelf 3. Return to The above is the basic operation of the MSS, and in order to realize this, the accessor controller 4 and the accessor 12 are configured as follows. That is, the accessor 12 is connected to the cartridge gripping mechanism section 15. X drive unit 13 for linear movement in the x direction. The accessor controller 24 is composed of a moving part 14 and an accessor position detection part 16 for linear movement in the Y direction.
1. X drive circuit 9. A gripping control circuit 8 for controlling the Y drive circuit 10 and each drive circuit 11.9°10. X control circuit 6゜Y control circuit 7. Furthermore, it comprises an interface circuit 5 that decodes access commands from the host control device 1 and distributes various data necessary for control operations to each control circuit 8, 6.7. In the accessor 12, the current position in the X direction and the current position in the Y direction of the cartridge gripping mechanism section 15 are determined by the respective signals 17 read by the accessor position detection section 16.
(X), X control circuit 6 based on 17(r). If the address recognized in the Y control circuit 7 and further specified by the access command υ matches the current position of the cartridge gripping mechanism section 15 and the address of the cell located at the position facing the cartridge gripping mechanism section 15 at this time, respectively. X, Y control circuit 6
．． Confirmed in 7.

On the other hand, the serial number C5N of the cartridge is recorded as binary information on a magnetic tape built into the cartridge, and C5N is read by mounting the cartridge in the recording unit 2 and performing a multiple read operation. As a result, the host controller 1 recognizes the C5N and uses the C5N for cartridge management.
5N can be used.

Conventional devices are based on this configuration (C5N recognition system), so in order to check the correspondence between the cartridges in the cartridge storage shelf and the cell address in which they are stored, it is necessary to identify the cartridges one by one. It is necessary to take it out of the storage shelf, install it in the recording unit, and then read the C5N.For this reason, in order to check the correspondence between the cell address and C5H for all the hundreds of cartridges normally stored in the cartridge storage shelf, it is necessary to read the C5N. The disadvantage is that it takes an extremely long time, about several hours.

The above disadvantages pose a serious problem in failure recovery in this type of collective cartridge storage device for the following reasons. Failures related to cartridge management are caused by errors in cell addresses due to accessor malfunction, loss of cartridge management records, confusion in the cartridge storage status due to human operational errors, accidents, etc. It is essential to understand the current state of cartridge storage as a whole. For this reason, the correspondence between the cell address and the C5N must be confirmed, but if this takes a long time, recovery from the failure will be delayed.

In addition, if the above-mentioned failure is compounded by an accessor failure, it is desirable to be able to manually operate the cartridge until the accessor failure is recovered, but with conventional devices, the cartridge storage shelf is Since the configuration does not allow a person to quickly visually recognize the C5N of a stored cartridge, manual intervention is not possible, which delays recovery from failure.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The present invention affixes a label with a visible C5N on the surface of a cartridge, and reads the labels of all cartridges in a cartridge storage shelf or the cartridges in a specific cell address area using a label reading circuit (9) provided in an accessor. It is characterized by scanning and reading C5N at high speed, and its purpose is to enable rapid automatic recovery or manual recovery from the failure state 75λ.

Embodiment of the Invention FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a collective cartridge storage device according to the present invention, in which the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 indicate the same parts, and 25 is an improved accessor controller;
6 is an improved accessor, 24 is a label reading circuit, 2
3 is a probe moving mechanism, 27 is a label reading section, 22 is a recognition processing circuit, 21 is a probe moving mechanism driving circuit, and 20 is an accessor scanning pattern generation circuit. The label reading section 27 is mechanically coupled to the cartridge gripping mechanism section 15,
It moves along the surface of the cartridge in conjunction with the operation of the accessor 26. The probe moving mechanism 23 is an auxiliary moving mechanism for optimizing the relative positional relationship between the label on the cartridge surface and the globe, and the X control circuit 6. X control circuit 7. It operates under the control of a probe moving mechanism drive circuit 21 that performs optimized operation control based on the output signal of the access scanning pattern generation circuit 20.

The accessor scanning button generation circuit 20 determines the operation order of the accessor in the X and Y directions, and based on this, cell address signals are sequentially input to the X control circuit 6 and the Y control circuit 7, and the accessor is moved in the X and Y directions. The cartridge gripping mechanism 15 moves.

At this time, the current position of the cartridge gripping mechanism section 15 is read by the accessor position detection section 16, and after being recognized by the x and X control circuits 6 and 7, the cell X address signal 18
(X), is input to the recognition processing circuit 22 as cell Y address signal 1 B(r). As the accessor continues to operate, the cell facing the cartridge gripping mechanism 15 shifts, and in response, the cell address signal 18(X) is input to the recognition processing circuit 22.

1s(y) changes sequentially.

On the other hand, the front surface of the cell facing the cartridge gripping mechanism 15 is scanned by the label reading section 27, and if there is a cartridge in the cell, the label on the surface is read, and this is sent as a label reading signal 18 (Z) to the recognition processing circuit. 22
is input to. As the cartridge gripping mechanism 15 moves, the cell facing it changes, and the label reading signal 18(L) sequentially changes accordingly. The recognition processing circuit temporarily stores the cell It is processed and output to the interface circuit 5 as a report signal 19 consisting of a C5N signal and a cell address signal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the main parts of the present invention will be explained in detail by giving examples thereof and referring to the drawings.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the recognition processing circuit 22, including 30.
31 is a register that stores the cell X address signal 18 (X) and the cell Y address signal 18 (r), 32 is a circuit, and 54 is a circuit that inputs the label reading signal 18 (L), processes it, and decodes it as a C5N signal. A decoding circuit 35 latches the C5N signal and is cleared by a signal from the timing generation circuit 33, a latch circuit 36 register! This is a gate circuit that time-aligns the input signals from 10.31 and the latch circuit 65 with the timing signal from the timing generation circuit 33, and outputs it as a report signal 19 consisting of the C5A' signal 57 and the cell address signal 38.

FIG. 4 shows a cartridge storage shelf, an accessor, and the like according to the present invention.
It is an example of a recording unit. Cartridge storage shelf 3
consists of a cartridge cell 40 and a cartridge 41 housed in the cartridge cell 40. A label 45 on which an identification serial number C5N unique to each cartridge is written is attached to the surface of the cartridge 41 exposed at the front of the cartridge storage shelf 6. A description example of C5H will be shown later. The cartridge cell 40 is given a cell address indicated by X, Y orthogonal coordinates. All the cartridges in the cartridge storage shelf 3 are managed by the correspondence between this cell address and C5H. C5N of the label 46 is read by the rapé/'m detection section 27 and output as an electrical signal to the recognition processing circuit 22 of the accessor controller (not shown). Based on the cartridge access command, the cartridge gripping mechanism 15 is positioned in front of a designated cartridge cell by the operation of the X drive unit 16 along the X rail 55 and the Y drive unit 14 along the Y rail 56, and the cartridge gripping mechanism 15 is positioned in front of a designated cartridge cell. Remove the cartridge. After gripping this cartridge, the X and Y drive sections 13 and 14 operate again to move and load the gripped cartridge into a designated cartridge mounting slot 44 or 45 in the recording unit 2. This operation is a normal cartridge access operation, but when the cartridge gripping mechanism 15 is positioned at the front of the cartridge, the cartridge gripping mechanism 1
It is also possible to read C5N on the label of the accessed cartridge by the label reading section 27 which is linked with the label reading section 5.

This allows C5H confirmation during normal access to be performed prior to mounting the recording unit, which helps improve operational reliability. The accessor scanning pattern generation circuit 2 in FIG.
0 causes the X, Y drive units 13 and 14 to perform operations such as scanning the entire front of the cartridge storage shelf or a specific address area, and scans all cartridges or cartridges in a specific address area via the label reading unit 27. There is an operation mode that reads the C5N of the label in a short time. C5
C5 of the cartridge in the specified area as the reading mode of H.
There is a mode in which all C5Ns are read out, a correspondence with an address is made, and the result is sent to the host controller 1, and a mode is in which a cartridge with a specific C5N is searched and this address is sent to the host controller 1. A preferred embodiment of the scanning pattern will be described later.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment, in which the accessor operation is Y.

This is a configuration example where θ is given by cylindrical coordinates.

The Y drive unit 14 moves up and down along the Y rail 56, and the Y rail 56 is further rotated by the θ drive unit 60 to perform positioning in the θ direction. There is also a method in which the Y rail 56 is fixed and the movement in the θ direction is realized by the Y drive section 14 rotating around the Y rail 56.

FIG. 6 shows a detailed embodiment of the label reading section 27. The label reading section 27 installed in the Y drive section 14 has a sensor 7 at the tip.
A sensor probe 71 with 0, an X moving mechanism 72 that moves it minutely in the X direction, and an
It is composed of a probe moving machine Tsubaki 23 consisting of a moving mechanism 76, and a label reading circuit 24 which converts C5N written on a label into an electric signal and reads it together with a sensor probe 71 (not shown). The sensor 70 reads the label by optical, magnetic, electrical, or mechanical means 1, such as a COD image sensor, a photodiode, a laser beam scanner, or a magnetic head.

A capacitive pickup or a microswitch i can be used depending on how the label is written. Sensor probe 71 can include a portion of electronic circuitry that connects to the sensor. Probe movement mechanism 23 linear motor, step motor, voice coil.

This can be realized using a known technique such as an actuator. Also X,
In addition to the Z direction, the Y direction or an appropriate rotational movement may be combined, or the probe moving mechanism 23 may not be used depending on the case.

Figures 7 and 7 are plan views showing different embodiments of the label. Figures 7 and 7 are plan views showing different embodiments of the label.
An example of a label is shown in which label 10 is written.
6 shows an example of a label having visible alphanumeric characters 100 and a magnetic stripe 102 that can be read by a magnetic head, and FIG.

The barcode 104 described in FIG. An example of a label 106 is shown in which the numbers are written at right angles and in two places.Embodiments of the label include:
In addition to the sensor type, label material, type and number of written symbols, etc., various other types such as magnetic ink symbols may be used.

Figure 8 shows the storage shelf 6 in order to automatically recover from a failure state.
This is an example of an accessor scanning pattern when ascertaining the storage status of all cartridges in the printer and reconstructing the cartridge management table.

This figure schematically shows the front side of the cartridge storage shelf 3, and the scanning direction of the accessor is indicated by the arrow 1 in (b).
10. In (6), it is represented by an arrow 111. (b) is a folded format in the X direction, and (b) is the above-mentioned label 106.
This is a two-time Y direction reciprocating scanning format in combination with The present invention is not limited to these examples, and various scanning patterns can be used depending on the label format, the operating characteristics of the accessor, the label reading method, and the like.

FIG. 9 shows the sensor probe 7 when reading C5N written on a cartridge stored in the cartridge storage shelf 6.
1 is an example of a movement trajectory of No. 1. In order to read the label 46 of the cartridge 41 accurately and stably, the distance between the sensor 70 at the tip of the sensor probe 71 and the label 43 is set by the sensor 7.
It is necessary to match the characteristics of 0. A sensor blob indicated by an arrow 120 in the figure.

The movement trajectory of the probe 71 is determined by controlling the movement of the probe movement mechanism using the accessor controller so that the sensor 70 does not collide with the cartridge fall prevention claw (not shown in the figure), and in order to adjust the distance between the label and the sensor in the label section. This is a controlled result.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, as described in detail, it is possible to realize a device that has a function of scanning and quickly reading the cartridge serial number C5N written on the label of a cartridge stored in a cartridge storage shelf. , 7% of cases where an abnormality in the cartridge storage condition occurs due to incorrect positioning of the accessor, manual operation error, etc., or an error is recorded in the cartridge management table.

When an abnormality such as omission occurs, the correspondence between the C5N and cell address of all cartridges is immediately checked, and the situation of mismatch with the cartridge management table can be grasped in a short time. Therefore, it is possible to quickly recover from this type of abnormal state based on the checked discrepancy status information.

In addition, when the cartridge is stored in the cartridge storage shelf, the maintenance person can check the C5 by the visible alphanumeric characters written on the label.
Since N can be recognized, even in the event of an accessor failure, it becomes possible to manually insert the cartridge into the recording unit and store it in the cell. Furthermore, since the cartridge storage state can be checked automatically and at high speed at any time, such as periodically or when traffic is slow, abnormalities in the cartridge storage state can be detected early, and the reliability of the collective cartridge storage device can be improved.

Furthermore, if the C5N written on the label of the accessed cartridge is read even during normal accessor operation, it can be checked against the cartridge management table each time the accessor is accessed.
It is possible to prevent erroneous selection of IJ, and it is possible to improve the reliability of cartridge storage position management within the cell.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional device, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a device according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a recognition processing circuit 2.
FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of the main part of the apparatus according to the present invention; FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of the main part of the apparatus; FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a label reading section according to the present invention; FIG. 8 is a diagram showing two embodiments of an accessor scanning pattern; FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the movement locus of the sensor probe during accessor scanning. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Upper control device, 2... Accessor, 3... Cartridge storage shelf, 4... Accessor controller, 2
0... Accessor scanning pattern generation circuit, 22... Recognition processing circuit, 23... Probe moving mechanism, 24...
Label reading 9 times "Special it'Fi [A, E]
; iE'Iiga, O, company's representative patent attorney Gobe Tamamushi and 6 others Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] A cartridge containing a recording medium therein, a cartridge storage shelf comprising an array of a plurality of cells accommodating the cartridge, a recording unit that performs recording and reproduction on the recording medium inside the cartridge, and the cartridge storage shelf. Positioning the cartridge gripping mechanism at a designated cell position and a designated recording unit position includes an accessor having a function of transferring the designated cartridge between the cell and the recording unit, and controlling the accessor. In a collective cartridge storage device consisting of an accessor controller,
A label is formed on the surface of the cartridge and describes a unique serial number of the cartridge, and a label is provided on the accessor and is mechanically connected to the cartridge gripping mechanism so that the accessor moves to the front of any cell in the cartridge storage shelf. and a label reading circuit equipped with means for reading the serial number of the cartridge written on a label on the surface of the cartridge in the cell, and a label reading circuit installed in the access controller and recognizing the cartridge serial number from the read signal of the label reading circuit. a recognition processing circuit comprising means for determining the correspondence between the recognized serial number and the address of the cell from the correspondence between the arrival time of the read signal and the accessor movement state and reporting this to a host device; and the accessor controller. an accessor scanning pattern generation circuit that is installed in the cartridge storage shelf and generates an electrical signal instruction necessary for the accessor to perform a movement of scanning some or all of the labels of the cartridges in the cartridge storage shelf in a short period of time; A collective cartridge storage device comprising: