JPH0877667A - Recording medium cartridge library device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (Correction) [Configuration] Each storage position 3 of the storage body is formed by a pair of side wall portions 8 and a bottom wall portion 9. A reflective optical sensor that moves integrally with the carrier is attached to the carrier. At each storage position 3, the outer surface of the side wall portion is the first carrier.
Is the first sensor detection surface 8A that can be detected by the optical sensor when moving in the direction of, and the outer surface of the bottom wall can be detected by the optical sensor when the carrier moves in the second direction. It is the second sensor detection surface 9A. In this way, the outer surfaces of the side wall portion and the bottom wall portion themselves also function as an optical position marker detected by the optical sensor. [Effect] The cartridge carrier can be positioned with high accuracy with respect to the designated storage cell of the storage body without high cost.

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 library device, and more particularly to a cartridge carrier which can position a cartridge carrier with a high accuracy with respect to a designated storage position of the container without high cost. Recording medium cartridge library device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A magnetic tape cartridge library device (hereinafter referred to as CTL) is a device for storing, reading and writing a magnetic tape cartridge (hereinafter referred to as cartridge). As is also easily understood, a storage body that stores a plurality of cartridges in each of a plurality of storage cells, a drive that reads and writes the cartridges, and the storage body, the drive, etc. by detachably holding and moving the cartridges. And a carrier (generally called a handling mechanism or a carrier robot) that carries the cartridge between them.

By the way, when a cartridge is to be transported from a designated storage position (referred to as a storage cell) having the storage body or to the designated storage cell, the transport body is moved to the storage cell position. It requires accurate movement and positioning. Therefore, conventionally, a matrix-shaped position scale is formed by providing a flag (for example, a light shielding plate protruding in the direction of the carrier) indicating the position of the housed cell for each housed cell, and the flag is provided on the carrier. The carrier is appropriately moved in the left-right direction and the up-down direction while detecting the flags through which the carrier sequentially passes through the optical sensor, thereby positioning the carrier at the designated storage cell position. The method is adopted. Further, generally, the outer side (conveyor side) of both side walls forming each storage cell is tapered, so that the cartridge conveyed through the transfer body is stored in the storage cell. A guide surface is formed to guide the paper smoothly.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, since the flag is provided for each storage cell, the manufacturing cost is high. Also, 1) it is difficult to accurately provide each flag at a predetermined position with respect to the corresponding storage cell, and 2) the flag is damaged by a cartridge or other external objects and is not accurately detected by the optical sensor. In some cases, the carrier could not be positioned with high accuracy with respect to the designated storage cell.
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is a recording medium cartridge library device capable of positioning a cartridge carrier with high accuracy at a designated storage position of a storage body without incurring high cost. The purpose is to provide.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A recording medium cartridge library apparatus according to the present invention includes a housing for housing a plurality of recording medium cartridges in respective housing positions, a drive for reading and writing the recording medium cartridge, and a recording medium cartridge. By detachably holding and moving along a predetermined transport path, each storage position, a transport body for transporting the recording medium cartridge between the drives, and the like, each storage position, A recording medium cartridge library device formed of a pair of side wall portions facing both side surfaces of a recording medium cartridge and a bottom wall portion supporting a bottom surface of the recording medium cartridge, which is movable integrally with the carrier. A reflection-type optical sensor, and an outer surface of the side wall portion on the side of the transport passage for each storage position. And a first sensor detection surface that can be detected by the optical sensor when the transport body moves in the first direction, and an outer surface of the bottom wall portion on the transport passage side of each of the storage cells. And a second sensor detection surface that is detectable by the optical sensor when the carrier moves in a second direction, and the outer surfaces of the side wall portion and the bottom wall portion themselves are It is characterized in that it also functions as an optical position marker of the corresponding storage position detected by the optical sensor.

[0006]

Each storage position of the storage body is formed by a pair of side wall portions facing both side surfaces of the recording medium cartridge and a bottom wall portion supporting the bottom surface of the recording medium cartridge to be stored. Further, a reflection type optical sensor that moves integrally with the carrier is attached to the carrier. At each of the storage positions, an outer surface of the side wall portion on the side of the transport passage is a first sensor detection surface that can be detected by the optical sensor when the transport body moves in a first direction (for example, a left-right direction). The outer surface of the bottom wall on the side of the transfer passage is a second sensor detection surface that can be detected by the optical sensor when the transfer body moves in the second direction (for example, the vertical direction). Has become. In this way, since the outer surfaces themselves of the side wall portion and the bottom wall portion also function as optical position markers detected by the optical sensor, it is not necessary to provide a special flag or the like, A significant cost reduction is realized, and further, since the detection surface is positionally accurate with respect to the storage position, the carrier can be positioned with high accuracy at the designated storage position.

Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, an outer protrusion protruding toward the transfer passage is provided at a position of the side wall portion adjacent to the bottom wall portion for each storage position. As a result, the detection surfaces are provided in a state of being separated from each other with the protrusion interposed. The protrusion protects the recording medium cartridge from collision with other external objects. Therefore, erroneous detection due to scratches on the detection surface due to the external object is prevented, and high positioning accuracy of the transport body is realized.

Further, guide faces for guiding the recording medium cartridge outwardly tapering are formed on the inner side faces of the pair of side wall parts forming the respective storage positions, and the guide faces are the above-mentioned. It is composed of a lower guide surface adjacent to the bottom wall portion and an upper guide surface adjacent to the first sensor detection surface, and the lower guide surface is located inside the storage position with respect to the upper guide surface. The lower guide surface mainly guides the recording medium cartridge. In this way, since the lower guide surface guides the recording medium cartridge, the upper guide surface does not suffer from scratches due to a collision with the recording medium cartridge inserted in the storage position or dust attached due to the insertion. Therefore, erroneous detection due to these is prevented.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a CT to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.
It is a perspective view which shows the whole L structure schematically. Storage 2
Is for accommodating a plurality of cartridges C in each of a plurality of storage cells 3. The drive 4 reads and writes the cartridge C. The transport body 6 holds the cartridge C detachably and appropriately moves in the left-right direction (X direction) and the up-down direction (Y direction) along a predetermined transport path, so that the storage body 2, the drive 4, etc. The cartridge C is conveyed between them. The carrier 6 is provided with a reflection type optical sensor S so that the carrier 6 can be accurately positioned with respect to the individual storage cells 3, as described later. Each storage cell 3 in the storage body 2 is a cartridge C to be stored.
A pair of standing side wall portions 8 facing both side surfaces of the two and a pair of bottom wall portions 9 protruding from the both standing side wall portions 8 in directions approaching each other.
The bottom surface of the cartridge C is supported by the upper surface of the bottom wall portion 9.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a portion of each of the standing side wall portions 8 which constitutes one storage cell 3 as viewed from the side of the carrier 6 (that is, in the direction of arrow Z). According to this embodiment, at least on the outer surface of the standing side wall portion 8 constituting each storage cell 3 on the side of the transport passage,
The first sensor detection surface 8A, which reflects light from the optical sensor S mounted on the carrier 6 and is detected by the optical sensor S by this reflection, is provided between the bottom wall portions 9 which are vertically separated from each other. Has become. The first sensor detection surface 8A is
In order to keep the cost as low as possible, it is most preferable to use the outer surface itself of the standing side wall portion 8 made of a material having a relatively large reflectance.

The outer surface of each bottom wall 9 reflects the light from the optical sensor S mounted on the carrier 6, and the second sensor detection that can be detected by the optical sensor S by this reflection. It is the surface 9A. It is most preferable that the second sensor detection surface 9A is also the outer surface itself of the bottom wall 9 made of a material having a relatively high reflectance in order to keep the cost as low as possible. Also, the first sensor detection surface 8A
The second sensor detection surface 9A is provided for each storage cell 3, and when optically detected by the optical sensor S, the second sensor detection surface 9A functions as a position marker indicating the position of the corresponding storage cell 3. It has become. That is,
According to this embodiment, the standing side wall portion 8 and the bottom wall portion 9 of the storage body 2 also have a function as a position marker indicating the position of each storage cell 3. For this reason,
The cost can be significantly reduced as compared with the conventional case where a special flag or the like is provided for each storage cell. Further, the detection surfaces 8A and 9A are positionally accurate with respect to the storage cell 3.

From a designated storage cell 3, or
When it is necessary to access the storage cell 3 in order to transport the cartridge C to the designated storage cell 3, in the transport body 6, the control of a control unit (not shown) based on the output signal of the optical sensor S is performed. It is appropriately moved downward in the X direction and the Y direction. That is, as the carrier 6 moves, the optical sensor S mounted on the carrier 6 receives the reflected light from the detection surfaces 8A and 9A that sequentially pass therethrough. As a result, the optical sensor S outputs a pulse that rises corresponding to one edge of each detection surface 8A, 9A and falls corresponding to the other edge of each detection surface 8A, 9A.

That is, for example, as the carrier 6 is first moved in the X direction from left to right in FIG. 2, in the optical sensor S, the first detection surfaces 8A that sequentially pass therethrough. A pulse is output which rises in response to the left edge of the pulse and falls in response to the right edge of each of the first detection surfaces 8A. Next, as the carrier 6 is moved in the Y direction from the bottom to the top in FIG. 2, the optical sensor S corresponds to the lower edge of each second detection surface 9A that sequentially passes. A pulse that rises and falls corresponding to the upper edge of each detection surface 9A is output. The control unit sequentially calculates the movement amount of the carrier 6 (hence, the current position) by counting the number of output pulses of the optical sensor S, and based on this calculation, stores the carrier 6 in the designated storage. It can be positioned at a position directly facing the cell 3.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, in each standing side wall portion 8, the first detection surface 8A, which serves as a position marker of each storage cell 3, has a protrusion 1 which is somewhat shorter than the length of the detection surface 8A in the Y direction.
They are separated by 0. As for each of the storage cells 3, the protrusion 10 is located below the detection surface 8A. When the cartridge C conveyed by the conveying body 6 is sent to the storage cell 3 or the like, the protrusion 10 collides with the detection surfaces 8A and 9A by the cartridge C and other external objects, and the detection surfaces 8A and 9A Has the function of preventing damage. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent erroneous detection by the optical sensor S due to scratches on the detection surfaces 8A and 9A. Therefore, the positioning accuracy of the carrier 6 can be improved.

FIG. 3 is a line sectional view of the standing side wall portion 8.
As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, the lower portions of both standing side wall portions 8 of each of the storage cells 3 (the portion between the height position of the upper end of the protrusion 10 and the height position of the upper surface of the bottom wall portion 9). On the outer side of (1), a lower guide surface 12 extending inward of the storage cell 3 while being inclined at a relatively small (smooth) angle is formed. The lower guide surface 12 functions similarly to the guide surface provided in the conventional CTL storage cell. In addition, upper portions of the side walls of each of the storage cells 3 (first
On the outer side of the height position and the Y-direction length of the detection surface 8 of the upper guide surface extending inward of the storage cell 3 while being inclined at a larger (a steeper) angle than the lower guide surface 12. 14 is formed. When sending the cartridge C carried by the carrier 6 to the corresponding storage cell 3,
The cartridge C can be smoothly fed into the storage cell 3 while being guided mainly by the lower guide surface 12.

The guide surface of each storage cell in the above-mentioned conventional CTL is formed flush with the entire height of the storage cell. However, the guide surface of each storage cell 3 in this embodiment is composed of a lower guide surface 12 having a gentle inclination angle and an upper guide surface 14 having a steep inclination angle.
It is a step. In this way, the main reason why the lower guide surface 12 is positioned on the inner side of the storage cell 3 than the upper guide surface 14 by inclining the upper guide surface 14 at a steeper angle than the lower guide surface 12 is. , Is as follows.

That is, 1) In the normal case, the guide of the cartridge C to the corresponding storage cell 3 has a gentler inclination angle (thus, from the upper guide surface 14 to the inner side of the storage cell 3). Since it is performed by the lower guide surface 12 (which is located), the upper guide surface 14 immediately adjacent to the first detection surface 8A is not easily scratched or dusted due to contact or collision with the cartridge C. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the light from the optical sensor S from being irregularly reflected by scratches, dust, etc. on the upper guide surface 6, and therefore, the detection of the first detection surface 8A by the optical sensor S is erroneously detected. It can be done without fail. 2) Since the gap between the cartridge C and the first detection surface 8A is clear even when the cartridge C is stored in the corresponding storage cell 3, the rising edge of the pulse output from the optical sensor S And the trailing edge appears clearly, so that the control accuracy of the control unit is improved, and the positioning of the carrier 6 can be performed with higher accuracy.

In this embodiment, when an access is made to one designated storage cell 3, each of the first detection surfaces sequentially passed through the optical sensor S mounted on the carrier 6. 8A and / or second detection surface 9A
Is detected, and under the control of the control section based on this detection, the carrier 6 is moved to a position directly facing the designated storage cell 3 and positioned. However, as described above with respect to the conventional technique, due to an unavoidable CTL installation accuracy error and control accuracy error, such as a relative inclination between the carrier 6 and the storage cell 3, in practice, , It is difficult to precisely position the carrier 6 in each storage cell 3. Therefore, in this embodiment, the first detection surface 8A and / or the first detection surface 8A and / or the second detection surface 8A are accessed every time the carrier 6 accesses the storage cell 3, or every arbitrarily selected access opportunity. The actual positioning position based on the detection of the second detection surface 9A is learned from the actual positioning position with respect to the storage cell 3 from the precise positioning position. The amount of positional deviation learned in this way is used as a correction value at the next positioning. With such a learning function, it is possible to accurately position the carrier 6 as desired. However, since such a learning function is not a feature of the present invention, detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, this invention is CTL
The present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to other types of library devices that handle optical disk cartridges and other recording medium cartridges.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention, the outer surface itself of the side wall and the bottom wall forming each storage position is used as an optical position marker of the corresponding storage position detected by the optical sensor. Since it also functions as described above, there is an excellent effect that the cartridge carrier can be positioned with high accuracy with respect to the designated storage cell of the storage body without high cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the overall structure of a CTL to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a front view of one storage cell in the same embodiment as viewed from the carrier side (that is, viewed in the arrow Z direction).

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a standing side wall portion of the storage cell.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Storage Body 3 Storage Cell 4 Drive 6 Carrier 8 Standing Side Wall 8A First Detection Surface 9 Bottom Wall 9A Second Detection Surface 10 Projection 12 Lower Guide Surface 14 Upper Guide Surface

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An accommodating body for accommodating a plurality of recording medium cartridges in respective accommodating positions, a drive for reading and writing the recording medium cartridges, a detachable holding of the recording medium cartridges, and movement along a predetermined conveying path. Accordingly, each of the storage positions, a transport body for transporting the recording medium cartridge between drives, and the like, each storage position includes a pair of side wall portions facing both side surfaces of the recording medium cartridge. A recording medium cartridge library device formed of a bottom wall portion supporting a bottom surface of the recording medium cartridge, wherein a reflection type optical sensor provided so as to be movable integrally with the transport body, and each of the storage positions. Is formed by the outer surface of the side wall portion on the side of the transfer passage, and is detected by the optical sensor when the transfer body moves in the first direction. It is formed by a detectable first sensor detection surface and an outer surface of the bottom wall portion on the side of the transfer passage for each of the storage cells. The light is generated when the transfer body moves in the second direction. A second sensor detection surface that can be detected by a sensor, and the outer surfaces themselves of the side wall portion and the bottom wall portion also function as an optical position marker of the corresponding storage position detected by the optical sensor. A recording medium cartridge library device characterized by the above. 2. An outer protrusion is provided at a position adjacent to the bottom wall portion of the side wall portion for each of the storage positions, whereby the detection surface interposes the protrusion. The recording medium cartridge library device according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium cartridge library device is provided in a state of being separated from each other, and is protected by the protrusion from collision with a recording medium cartridge or other external objects. 3. A guide surface for guiding a recording medium cartridge, which is tapered outward, is formed on the inner side surface of each of the pair of side wall portions forming each of the storage positions. A lower guide surface adjacent to the bottom wall,
An upper guide surface adjacent to the first sensor detection surface, and the lower guide surface is a two-step surface formed so as to be located inward of the storage position with respect to the upper guide surface. The recording medium cartridge library apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium cartridge is guided mainly by the lower guide surface.