Registers – Coded record sensors – Holding devices
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-24
2003-09-02
Le, Thien M. (Department: 2876)
Registers
Coded record sensors
Holding devices
Reexamination Certificate
active
06612499
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the storage of information, and particularly to automated cartridge handling systems such as cartridge libraries which store cartridges or cassettes of magnetic tape.
2. Related Art and Other Considerations
In the early days of computers, information requiring storage could be transmitted from a computer to a tape drive, whereat the information was magnetically recorded on or read from a large reel of tape. Upon completion of an operation of recording on the tape, for example, the reel would be removed manually from the tape drive and mounted in a rack. Another reel from the rack could then be manually mounted, if necessary, in the drive for either an input (tape reading) or output (recording to tape) operation.
Eventually it became popular to enclose magnetic tape in a cartridge, the cartridge being considerably smaller than the traditional tape reels. While many persons are familiar with tape cartridges of a type which can be loaded into a “tape deck” for reproduction of audio information (e.g., music), it is not as commonly realized that similar cartridges, although of differing sizes, can be used to store such information as computer data. For years now magnetic tape cartridges have proven to be an efficient and effective medium for data storage, including but not limited to computer back-up.
Large computer systems have need to access numerous cartridges. To this end, automated cartridge handling systems or libraries for cartridges have been proposed for making the cartridges automatically available to the computer. Many of these automated libraries resemble jute boxes. Typically, prior art automated cartridge libraries have an array of storage positions for cartridges, one or more tape drives, and some type of automated changer or cartridge engagement/transport mechanism for picking or gripping a cartridge and moving the cartridge between a storage position and the tape drive.
Important to the automation of cartridge libraries as previously known has been the provision of the cartridge changer or cartridge engagement/transport mechanism for picking or gripping a cartridge and moving the cartridge between a storage position and the tape drive. Such robotic mechanisms, often called a cartridge “picker” or “gripper”, is typically mounted in a library frame in order to introduce and remove cartridges relative to one or more stationary drives. The stationary drive and the picker are typically mounted to the same basic frame structure of the library.
The following United States patents and patent applications, all commonly assigned herewith and incorporated herein by reference, disclose various configurations of automated cartridge libraries, as well as subcomponents thereof (including cartridge engagement/transport mechanisms, entry/exit ports, and storage racks for housing cartridges):
U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,106 to Herger et al., entitled “CARTRIDGE LIBRARY SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OPERATION THEREOF”.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,277 to Sills et al., entitled “CARTRIDGE TRANSPORT ASSEMBLY AND METHOD OF OPERATION THEREOF”.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,772 to Younglove, entitled “READING METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CARTRIDGE LIBRARY”.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,986 to Marlowe, entitled “CARTRIDGE RACK”.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,237,467 and 5,416,653 to Marlowe, entitled “CARTRIDGE HANDLING APPARATUS AND METHOD WITH MOTION-RESPONSIVE EJECTION”.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,116 to Woodruff et al., entitled “ENTRY-EXIT PORT FOR CARTRIDGE LIBRARY”.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,579 to Woodruff et al., entitled “PICKER MECHANISM FOR DATA CARTRIDGES”.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,339 to Woodruff et al., entitled “CARTRIDGE RACK AND LIBRARY FOR ENGAGING SAME”.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,739,978, entitled “CARTRIDGE HANDLING SYSTEM WITH MOVING I/O DRIVE”.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,008,964, entitled “CARTRIDGE LIBRARY AND METHOD OF OPERATION THEREOF”.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/970,205, entitled “CARTRIDGE LIBRARY WITH CARTRIDGE LOADER MOUNTED ON MOVABLE DRIVE ASSEMBLY”.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/121,541, entitled “CARTRIDGE LIBRARY AND METHOD OF OPERATION”.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,005,745 application Ser. No. 09/121,816, entitled “CARTRIDGE LIBRARY WITH ENTRY/EXIT PORT AND METHOD OF OPERATION THEREOF”.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,239,941, entitled “CARTRIDGE LIBRARY AND METHOD OF OPERATION”.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,144,521, entitled “CARTRIDGE MAGAZINE AND LIBRARY EMPLOYING SAME”.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/121,817, entitled “DRIVE CARRIER AND CARTRIDGE LIBRARY EMPLOYING SAME”.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/708,433, entitled “CARTRIDGE LIBRARY”.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/708,432, entitled “CARTRIDGE PICKER ROBOT WITH RIBBON CABLE FOR CARTRIDGE LIBRARY”.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/708,451, entitled “ADJUSTABLE MOUNTING FOR BARCODE READER WITH BACKLASH PREVENTION”.
U.S. Design patent application Ser. No. 29/132,408, entitled “CARTRIDGE LIBRARIES”.
U.S. Design patent application Ser. No. 29/132,407, entitled “CARTRIDGE MAGAZINE”.
In an automated tape library, one of the important tasks is to closely align the tape handling mechanism (the gripper) to tape cartridge storage cells ill the library and to tape drive openings. This is important because misalignment can make picking and placing tapes difficult and error prone.
Various means and techniques have been employed to accomplish proper alignment. Most of these techniques involve use of optical sensors. For example, a first common technique is to shine a light at a target associated to the cartridge location and sense the location of the reflection. A second common technique is to shine a light through an stationary aperture associated to the cartridge position and sense the location of the transmitted light.
The problem with the first technique is that the light source and the detector must be aimed to converge at a certain depth. If this depth cannot be controlled accurately, the axes converge in front of or behind the reflective surface. Also, the convergence of the optical axes cause parallax which confuses lateral position with depth.
A problem with the second technique is that supporting an emitter or detector on the side of the aperture opposite the robot and having it move with the robot is difficult.
What is needed, therefore, and an object of the present invention, is a calibration cartridge and technique of usage thereof (e.g., in an automated cartridge library) which facilitates calibration of locations in the automated cartridge library.
BRIEF SUMMARY
A calibration cartridge for an automated media library comprises a cartridge case having a calibration surface and an electromagnetic transmissive channel. The electromagnetic transmissive channel transmits electromagnetic radiation incident upon the calibration surface at a radiation reception port in a first position of the calibration cartridge so that the electromagnetic radiation travels interiorily through the calibration case and exits from the calibration cartridge at a radiation exit aperture in a second position on the calibration surface. The electromagnetic transmissive channel is preferably an electromagnetic conductor, such as an optical fiber or light pipe, for example.
The electromagnetic transmissive channel is situated in an interior of the cartridge case. The electromagnetic transmissive channel has a first end which terminates at the first position (e.g., the radiation reception port) on the calibration surface and a second end which directs electromagnetic radiation transmitted by the electromagnetic transmissive channel to the second position (e.g., the radiation exit aperture) on the calibration surface. In one example embodiment, the second end of the electromagnetic transmissive channel terminates interiorily in the cartridge case and directs the electromagnetic radiation toward the radiation exit aperture.
The calibration cartridge is usable in an automated information storage library which comprises plural cartridge-accommodating cells and a drive. Each of the plural cells is adapted to accommodate a media cartridge, the media cartridge containin
Butler Alan
Clos Christopher J.
Ellis John
Exabyte Corporation
Le Thien M.
Nixon & Vanderhye P.C.
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