JPH04344366A - Recording medium cartridge carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To ensure cartridge carrier by fixing a holder supporting body to a travelling body in the middle and holding it from upward and downward so as to extend the supporting body upward and downward of the travelling body as much. CONSTITUTION:The device is provided to travel along a holder H which holds the recording medium cartridge to be carried in freely attachable and detachable, a truck 11 which is a holder supporting body supporting this holder H in the prescribed direction movably, and a carrier guide rail 12 which extends to the left and right. The truck 11 is fixed in the middle of the truck 11, and this truck 11 is held from upward and downward to be extended upward and downward as much, and travels the holder H along the carrier guide rail 12. Accordingly, the holder H can be moved to the prescribed position by moving the cartridge carrier device 10 which moves the holder H through the truck 11 to the right and left to the prescribed position and the holder H along the truck 11.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording medium cartridge transport device, and in particular to a device that can transport a recording medium cartridge reliably and at high speed, such as an optical disk library device or a magnetic disk library device. The present invention relates to a device that can be used in a recording medium cartridge library device such as the above.

0002

[Prior Art] An optical disc library device is a device that stores and drives optical disc cartridges (hereinafter referred to as cartridges), and generally includes a storage rack that stores the cartridges in each of a plurality of storage cells, and a storage rack that drives the cartridges. A device comprising a cartridge drive that performs (reading, reading and writing), and a cartridge transport device that transports a desired cartridge from a storage rack to the cartridge drive, and returns a used cartridge in the cartridge drive to the storage rack. It is. FIG. 3 shows an example of such a conventional optical disc library device. In this library device, the transport guide rail 3 of the cartridge transport device 2 is laid on the floor F and extends in the horizontal direction (X direction) over substantially the entire width of the storage rack 5. The trolley 4 is mounted so that it can run on the conveyance guide rail 3 at its rollers 4a. The roller 4a is made of an elastic material such as rubber, so as to reduce noise when traveling on the conveyance guide rail 3. Further, the trolley 4 is fixedly connected to one end of a long column 6 having a length that covers substantially the entire height of the storage rack 5, and is cantilevered so that the column 6 protrudes in the vertical direction (Y direction). It is fixedly supported. An endless belt 7 that is driven along the column 6 is attached to the column 6, and the endless belt 7 includes a holder HA that holds a cartridge to be transported, and a holder H.
A counterweight WA is fixedly attached thereto to balance the weight between the body and the body A. Through such a trolley 4 and an endless belt 7, the holder HA is moved to each storage cell 5a (
In the figure, for simplicity, only the storage cells 5a in a part of the storage rack 5 are shown) and the cartridge drive ODA are moved and aligned in the horizontal and vertical directions. For example, when a cartridge stored in any of the storage cells 5a is transported to any of the cartridge drives ODA, first, the trolley 4 is moved along the transport guide until the holder HA matches the storage cell 5a in the horizontal direction. The endless belt 7 is moved along the rail 3 and driven along the column 6 until the holder HA coincides with the storage cell 5a in a vertical position. In this way, the holder H
When A is aligned vertically and horizontally with respect to the storage cell 5a, the cartridge is taken into the holder HA from the storage cell 5a. Then, by moving the cart 4 and driving the endless belt 7 again, the holder H is moved until it is aligned with the cartridge drive ODA, and the holder H
From there, the cartridge is sent to the drive ODD. When a used cartridge in the cartridge drive ODA is returned to the storage cell 5a, the holder HA is similarly positioned or moved by moving the cart 4 and driving the endless belt 7.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the above-mentioned optical disc library apparatus has the following problems. That is, first, the column 6 is fixed to the cart 4 in a cantilevered manner at one end thereof and extends long from the cart 11, so that, for example, distortion of the roller 4a made of an elastic material, unevenness at the joint of the conveyance guide rail 3, and conveyance may occur. Even if the carriage 4 is slightly tilted due to distortion of the transport guide rail 3 due to unevenness of the floor on which the guide rail 3 is laid, the column 6 can rotate with a large radius of rotation around the carriage 4. It rotates and tilts, resulting in a large displacement particularly in the horizontal direction at its upper end. For this reason, the holder HA is positioned at the upper end of the column 6 and the storage rack 5
This makes it difficult to align the cartridge with the upper storage cell 5a, which hinders reliable cartridge transport operation. In addition, since the column 6 extends only upward from the cart 4, a large moment is generated due to sudden acceleration or deceleration of the cart 11, and the connection between the column 6 and the cart 4, the conveyance guide rail 3.
The rollers 4a, etc. that engage with the cartridges are likely to be damaged, and this also poses a problem in reliable cartridge conveyance operation. Furthermore, due to the generation of such a large moment, the carriage 4 could not be moved at high speed, and the cartridge could not be transported at high speed.

The above-mentioned problems are particularly serious in large-capacity optical disc library devices that are equipped with tall storage racks 5 and require long columns 6 corresponding to the height of the storage racks 5. . The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a recording medium cartridge transport device that can transport a recording medium cartridge reliably and at high speed.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, a recording medium cartridge conveying device according to the present invention includes:
a holder that removably holds a recording medium cartridge to be transported; a holder support that supports the holder so as to be movable in a predetermined direction; a support is fixed at an intermediate portion of the support, and the support is held in the vertical direction so as to extend approximately the same length above and below;
a traveling body that moves the holder in the horizontal direction to a desired location via the support by traveling along the conveyance guide with the holder support; and a traveling body that holds the holder in the vertical direction. and a moving means for vertically moving the holder to the desired location by moving the holder along the holder support body.

[0006]

[Operation] The holder support supports a holder for removably holding a recording medium cartridge to be transported, so as to be movable in a predetermined direction along the support. The traveling body is provided so as to be movable along a conveyance guide extending in the left-right direction by an arbitrary driving means. In addition, this running body is
By fixing the support body at the intermediate portion of the support body, the support body is held in the vertical direction so as to extend approximately the same length above and below the traveling body, and is integrally attached to the support body. It is designed to run with When moving the holder to a desired location to transport the recording medium cartridge, the traveling body moves the holder in the left-right direction to the desired location via the support by traveling along the transport guide. Move to. Further, at this time, the moving means moves the holder in the vertical direction to the desired location by moving the holder in the predetermined direction along the holder support body held in the vertical direction. As described above, the holder support is fixed to the traveling body at its intermediate portion and is held in the vertical direction by the traveling body, so that approximately half of the total length of the holder support body is fixed to the traveling body in the upper and lower portions of the traveling body. , and the length protruding from the traveling body and conveyance guide is approximately half that of a case where one end thereof is fixed to the traveling body in a cantilevered manner. Therefore, when the traveling body is tilted, the positional deviation at the top and bottom ends of the holder support is also halved. Difficulties in positioning the holder with respect to a desired location at a height corresponding to the height position can be effectively avoided. Therefore, the recording medium cartridge can be transported reliably. In addition, the holder support is fixed to the traveling body at its intermediate portion and extends approximately the same length above and below the traveling body, so that even when the traveling body suddenly accelerates or decelerates, the holder support is fixed to the traveling body. It doesn't give a big moment. Therefore, the recording medium cartridge can be transported at high speed.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 and 2 show an example in which a cartridge transport device according to an embodiment of the present invention is used in an optical disc library device. Elements in FIGS. 1 and 2 denoted by the same reference numerals as in FIG. 3 have the same functions as those in the same figure. The transport guide rail 12 of the cartridge transport device 10 supports the mounting arm 9 fixed to the frame of the library device at a height corresponding to the intermediate space between the two vertically separated storage racks 13. The storage rack 13 is attached through the storage rack 13, and extends in the horizontal direction (X direction) over substantially the entire width of the storage rack 13. In addition, in the figure, only some storage cells 13a of each storage rack 13 are shown for simplification. In this example, the storage rack 13 and the plurality of cartridge drives OD are provided facing each other on both sides of the transport guide rail 12, and the cartridge drive OD is located at a height position close to the transport guide rail 12, that is, in both storage It is provided at a height position corresponding to the intermediate space portion of the rack 13.

The trolley 11 is mounted on rollers 11a made of an elastic material such as rubber so that it can run on the conveyance guide rail 12, and is driven by an arbitrary driving means to move horizontally along the conveyance guide rail 12. It is possible to move in the direction. Further, the trolley 11 is fixedly connected to a longitudinally intermediate portion of a long column 14 having a length that covers substantially the entire height of both storage racks 13.
4 is held fixed in the vertical direction (Y direction). Column 1
4, as mentioned above, the carriage 11 is located at the middle part in the longitudinal direction.
By being fixedly connected to the trolley 11 and the conveyance guide rail 12, it extends approximately the same length above and below the carriage 11 and the conveyance guide rail 12, and its upper end protrudes upward from the uppermost storage cell 13a of the upper storage rack 13. Its lower end protrudes downward from the lowermost storage cell 13a of the lower storage rack 13. In this way, the column 14 is fixed to the trolley 11 at its longitudinally intermediate portion and is held vertically by the trolley 11, so that the conveyance guide rail 12 is attached above and below the trolley 11, respectively. It extends by about half of the total length while being perpendicular to , and the length protruding from the cart 11 is about half that of the case where it is held cantilevered by the cart 11 at one end. An endless belt 15 is attached to the column 14, which extends over substantially the entire length of the column 14 and is driven along the column 14 by an arbitrary driving means such as a motor. It extends approximately the same length upward and downward. A holder H for holding a cartridge to be transported is fixed to one side of the endless belt 15, and a counterweight W for balancing the weight with the holder H is fixed to the other side of the endless belt 15. ing.

The holder H is open at both ends so that cartridges can be taken in and out of the storage rack 13 and the cartridge drive OD, which are opposed to each other on both sides of the transport guide rail 12. When transporting the cartridge, the holder H is moved and aligned in the horizontal and vertical directions with respect to each storage cell 13a or cartridge drive OD by the cart 11 and the endless belt 15.

Next, an example of the operation of this embodiment will be explained. For example, when transporting a cartridge from a specific storage cell 13a to a specific cartridge drive OD, first, the cart 11 is moved along the transport guide rail 12 until the holder H matches the storage cell 13a in the horizontal direction. and the endless belt 15 is driven along the column 14 until the holder H coincides with the storage cell 13a in a vertical position. In this way, the holder HA is perpendicular to the storage cell 5a,
When aligned in the horizontal direction, the cartridge is taken into the holder H from the storage cell 13a. Then, by moving the cart 11 and driving the endless belt 15 again, the holder H is moved to a position where it is aligned with the cartridge drive OD, and the cartridge is fed from the holder H to the drive OD. Even when a used cartridge in a specific cartridge drive OD is returned to a specific storage cell 13a, the holder H is appropriately moved by moving the cart 11 and driving the endless belt 15. As mentioned above, the column 14 is fixed to the truck 11 at its longitudinally intermediate portion and is held vertically by the truck 11, so that
The trolley 11 and the conveyance guide rail extend equally over and below the trolley 11 by approximately half of the total length, and are held cantilevered by the trolley 11 at one end. Since the length protruding from the column 12 is approximately half, for example, if the carriage 11 is tilted due to distortion of the roller 11a made of an elastic material, unevenness at the joint of the conveyance guide rail 12, etc., the column 1
The radius of the inclination of column 4 together with truck 11 is halved compared to the cantilever type, and the positional deviation at the upper and lower ends of column 14 is also approximately halved. Therefore, even when the column 14 is tilted due to the reasons described above, the holder H can be easily aligned with the storage cell 13a on the upper end side or the lower end side of the storage rack 13. Moreover, with such a configuration, the column 14 and the endless belt 15
, holder H, counterweight W, etc. are balanced between the upper side and lower side of the conveyance guide rail 12, so when the cart 11 suddenly accelerates or decelerates, the column 14, endless belt 15, holder H, counterweight Moment due to the weight W etc. is not generated, the truck 11 can run at high speed, and the life of the rollers 11a of the truck 11 can be extended. Note that the present invention is applicable not only to optical disk library devices but also to magnetic disk library devices and other recording medium cartridge library devices.

[0011]

As described above, in the present invention, the holder support is fixed to the traveling body at its intermediate portion,
Since the support body is held in the vertical direction so as to extend approximately the same length above and below the traveling body, it extends equally by approximately half of the total length above and below the traveling body. , the length protruding from the traveling body is approximately half that of the case where one end thereof is fixed to the traveling body in a cantilevered manner. Therefore, when the traveling body is tilted, the positional deviation at the upper and lower ends of the holder support is halved, and the desired position at the height corresponding to the upper or lower end of the holder support is Difficulties in positioning the holder can be effectively avoided, and as a result, an excellent effect is achieved in that the recording medium cartridge can be transported reliably. Moreover, with such a configuration, even when the traveling body suddenly accelerates or decelerates, a large moment is not applied to the traveling body. As a result, the present invention also has the effect that the recording medium cartridge can be transported at high speed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of the configuration of an optical disc library device using a recording medium cartridge transport device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view showing the recording medium cartridge transport device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a cartridge transport device in a conventional optical disc library device.

[Explanation of symbols]

11...Dolly, 12...Transportation guide rail, 14...Column,
15...Endless belt, H...Holder.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A holder that removably holds a recording medium cartridge to be transported, a holder support that supports the holder so as to be movable in a predetermined direction, and a holder that is movable along a transport guide that extends in the left-right direction. , and the holder support is fixed at an intermediate portion of the support to hold the support in a vertical direction so as to extend substantially the same length above and below the support, a traveling body that moves the holder in the left-right direction to a desired location via the support by traveling along the conveyance guide; and a traveling body that moves the holder along the predetermined direction of the holder support. a recording medium cartridge conveying device comprising: a moving means for vertically moving the holder to the desired location;