Electricity: motive power systems – Positional servo systems – With protective or reliability increasing features
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-12
2001-02-06
Ip, Paul (Department: 2837)
Electricity: motive power systems
Positional servo systems
With protective or reliability increasing features
C318S565000, C318S560000, C360S092100, C369S034010, C369S036010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06184643
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically conveying cartridges to a magnetic tape unit which records and reproduces data by using a magnetic cartridge tape (hereinafter simply referred to as “cartridge”) as a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, automatic operation of magnetic tape units has become so advanced that it is necessary to employ an apparatus for automatically conveying cartridges to take a cartridge that is to be processed from a rack of a cell mechanism, in which a plurality of cartridges are stored, and to convey the cartridge to a magnetic tape apparatus.
In the apparatus for automatically conveying cartridges, a robot that requires a servo control operation has generally been controlled by firmware. Furthermore, the torque required from a motor to drive the apparatus for automatically conveying cartridges varies depending upon the apparatuses due to mechanical tolerance, the environment in which the apparatus for automatically conveying cartridges is used and the time of use. It is presumed that these differences result from a change in friction and mechanical tolerance.
Despite the occurrence of the above-mentioned situations, any magnetic tape apparatus can be easily coped with if mechanical tolerance in the apparatus is absorbed by the firmware that controls the apparatus for automatically conveying cartridges. Moreover, incorporating a mechanical unit in the apparatus for automatically conveying cartridges maintaining precision requires laborious work as well as considerable expense. It therefore becomes necessary to assemble the apparatus while maintaining precision to a certain degree and, then, control the operation is corrected by the firmware.
As the apparatus is designed to operate automatically, furthermore, it is required to operate unattended. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a library unit which stores a number of cartridges and conveys a cartridge to the magnetic tape apparatus to automatically execute recording/reproducing operation. Even when the apparatus for automatically conveying cartridges is coupled to a library unit to automatically convey the cartridges, however, it is not possible to automatically convey the cartridges when there are included cartridges from which the leader block has been pulled out or when the detector mechanisms have been broken in the apparatus for automatically conveying the cartridges. In such a case, the operation must be carried out by an operator.
Even in an apparatus in which the detector mechanisms have been broken, therefore, the processing can be continued if the cartridge contained therein can be taken out. It therefore becomes necessary to automatically continue the processing without assistance from an operator or maintenance personnel. This is related to enhancing the retry control operation when an error has occurred. When the operator uses the apparatus for automatically conveying cartridges, furthermore, the apparatus must be easily operated. For this purpose, the operation performance must be enhanced. Therefore, the operation must be simple and easy.
The prior art will now be described with reference to the drawings.
§1: Description of a Cartridge and Apparatus for Automatically Conveying Cartridges—see
FIGS. 1A
to
1
D.
FIG. 1A
is a perspective view of a cartridge,
FIG. 1B
is a side view of a conventional ACL apparatus for a single unit,
FIG. 1C
is a side view of a conventional ACL apparatus for attachment to a library unit, and
FIG. 1D
is a plan view of a conventional accessor. In the following description, the apparatus for automatically conveying cartridges is referred to as an ACL (automatic cartridge loading) apparatus, the magnetic tape unit is referred to as “MTU”, and the magnetic cartridge tape is referred to as “cartridge”.
As a magnetic cape recording medium, there has heretofore been known a cartridge (magnetic cartridge tape)
1
that is shown (3480-type magnetic cartridge tape). There has been known an ACL apparatus for automatically conveying cartridges to the MTU which records and reproduces the data by using the cartridge
1
. The ACL apparatus may be either an ACL apparatus
4
for a single unit or an ACL apparatus
5
for attachment to a library unit.
The ACL apparatus
4
for a single unit is used in combination with the MTU (as a unitary structure) and automatically conveys the cartridge to the MTU
6
. The ACL apparatus
5
for attachment to a library is used in combination with the MTU
6
(as a unitary structure) and is further mechanically coupled to a library unit
12
.
In this case, the library unit
12
is equipped with a cell (rack mechanism) for storing a number of cartridges therein, an MTU (unit separate from the MTU
6
combined with the ACL unit), an accessor mechanism for automatically conveying cartridges to the cell and to the MTU, and a cartridge access station (CAS) for automatically loading/discharging the cartridges.
As shown, the ACL apparatus
4
for a single unit is used in combination with the MTU
6
(as a unitary structure). The ACL apparatus
4
for a single unit is equipped with a cell mechanism
10
having many racks (cells)
11
for holding cartridges, and an accessor mechanism for automatically conveying cartridges. The accessor mechanism is provided with an accessor (mechanism which grips a cartridge and moves)
8
, a shaft
9
and an accessor drive mechanism which includes a motor.
The accessor
8
is driven by the accessor drive mechanism and ascends or descends along the shaft
9
but does not turn on a horizontal plane. The cartridge can be inserted in each rack
11
of the cell mechanism
10
, by hand, from the external side. The accessor
8
grips the cartridge inserted in the rack
11
of the cell mechanism
10
, conveys it and loads it into the MTU
6
. The cartridge loaded into the MTU is subjected to read/write processing. The cartridge processed in the MTU
6
is gripped by the accessor
8
, conveyed to the cell mechanism
10
and is discharged into the rack
11
.
Like the ACL apparatus
4
for a single unit, the ACL apparatus
5
for attachment to a library unit is used in combination with the MTU
6
and is further coupled (mechanically coupled) to a library unit
12
. In this case, the ACL apparatus
5
for attachment to a library unit is provided with the accessor mechanism and the cell mechanism
10
. Here, the cell mechanism
10
is provided with an entry cell
13
and an exit cell
14
.
The ACL apparatus
5
for attachment to a library unit automatically exchanges the cartridge with the library unit
12
through the entry cell
13
and the exit cell
14
. For instance, a cartridge stored in the library unit
12
is conveyed by the ACL apparatus
5
for attachment to a library unit to the MTU
6
(which is separate from the MTU in the library unit
12
) and is subjected to read/write processing.
The accessor
8
is provided with catcher hands
19
(located on both sides) which open and close by turning about a rotary center shaft
20
to grip or release the cartridge
1
, a catcher motor
21
for driving the catcher hands
19
, feed motors
23
for feeding/returning (pulling/discharging) the cartridge by driving the feeder belts, a presence-of-cartridge sensor
25
for detecting the presence of a cartridge on the rack of the cell mechanism
10
, a first cell side sensor
38
and a second cell side sensor
39
for detecting the presence of a cartridge in the accessor
8
. The catcher hands
19
are disposed on the side of the cell mechanism
10
.
§2: Controlling the Portions of the ACL Apparatus.
Described below are the operations for controlling the portions of the ACL. apparatus
4
for a single unit and of the ACL apparatus
5
for attachment to a library unit. In the following description, both the ACL apparatus
4
for a single unit and the ACL apparatus
5
for attachment to a library unit are simply referred to as “ACL apparatuses”. Furthermore, the racks of the cell mechanism provided for the ACL app
Akiyama Hitomi
Akiyama Yoshiki
Fujitsu Limited
Ip Paul
Staas & Halsey , LLP
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