Dynamic information storage or retrieval – Information location or remote operator actuated control – Selective addressing of storage medium
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-10
2003-02-04
Nguyen, Hoa T. (Department: 2652)
Dynamic information storage or retrieval
Information location or remote operator actuated control
Selective addressing of storage medium
Reexamination Certificate
active
06515945
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to library apparatuses storing and handling a plurality of recording media, such as DVDs (Digital Versatile Disks) and CDs (Compact Disks), where a designated recording medium is positioned in a plurality of predetermined positions for transportation, via a carrying holder (carrier) unit, between a storage unit and a medium drive unit, and more particularly to an improved medium-positioning technique that permits accurate positioning of the designated recording medium in the predetermined positions in a highly simplified manner.
Conventionally-known recording media library apparatuses (hereinafter also referred to as “library apparatuses”) are designed so that a recording medium, such as an optical disk, contained in a predetermined case or cartridge is transported automatically by a computer-controlled carrying holder unit between a storage unit and a medium drive unit and the thus-transported medium is driven via the drive unit for data read or write. Namely, such library apparatuses generally comprise the carrying holder unit automatically-controlled for retaining and transporting a designated recording medium, usually in horizontal and vertical directions, the storage unit for storing a multiplicity of the recording media in respective storage cells (or on respective storage racks), and the medium drive unit that reads or writes data on the recording medium. The carrying holder unit includes a picker mechanism which has a locking member, commonly called a locking claw or picker, engageable with the recording medium. For transfer of the designated recording medium between the holder unit and the storage unit or the drive unit, the picker mechanism drives the locking member or picker, with the recording medium locked thereby, to move the recording medium within a predetermined travel range. When, for example, the recording medium stored in a particular one of the storage cells is to be driven by the medium drive unit for data read or write, the carrying holder unit is first moved to the particular storage cell to pull the recording medium out of the storage cell into a predetermined place of the holder unit using the picker, after which the holder unit, retaining the recording medium, is moved over to the medium drive unit and sends the thus-transported medium into the drive unit using again the picker. Thus, by means of the picker, each designated recording medium can be transferred or passed between the storage cell and the carrying holder unit or between the carrying holder unit and the medium drive unit; hereinafter, such a transfer of the recording medium using the picker will be called a “feed transfer”.
More and more DVDs (Digital Versatile Disks) have been used as high-density digital recording media in recent years. However, so far, there has been proposed no library apparatus capable of efficiently handling the DVD recording media.
For example, when the power supply to the conventional library apparatus is turned OFF during the course of a feed transfer of a particular recording medium, the recording medium is undesirably halted and left “pending” unsettled halfway through the intended transfer, which would lead to significant inconveniences on and after resumption of the power. Thus, in turning ON the power (at power-ON), it was absolutely necessary to properly ascertain whether or not any recording medium is left pending or unsettled halfway through a feed transfer. To this end, it has been customary for a human operator to visually ascertain the current conditions of the library apparatus and, in case any recording medium is found to be halted halfway through a feed transfer, manually move the picker out of the locking engagement with the recording medium to thereby remove the medium from the library apparatus or manually move the medium for settlement in a predetermined position.
Further, in the case where the designated recording medium is transferred through a reciprocating movement of the picker within the predetermined travel range, there would arise a need to accurately detect a current position of the picker for precise control of its movement. However, the existing general-purpose picker position detectors are relatively expensive and can never be said to be simple in structure. While the incremental pulse encoder is known today as a relatively inexpensive general-purpose detector, it is not capable of detecting absolute positions, so that if the picker is halted in a position halfway through the transfer due to power shutoff, there would be encountered the problem that the incremental pulse encoder is unable to properly perform its position detecting operation after resumption of the power.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a recording media library apparatus which can properly detect a current position of a recording medium with a simple structure and thereby appropriately control transfer of the recording medium.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a recording media library apparatus which, when any recording medium is found, upon power-ON, pending halfway through a feed transfer, can automatically perform control to move and settle the pending recording medium in a predetermined position.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a recording media library apparatus which can detect any necessary position of a picker in absolute form by means of a position detector that is inexpensive and simple in structure.
In order to accomplish the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a recording media library apparatus which comprises: a storage section that stores a recording medium; a carrier unit that carries a recording medium; a drive unit that reads or writes data on a recording medium; a medium transfer mechanism that includes a locking member engageable with a recording medium and moves the recording medium within a predetermined travel range with the recording medium engaged by the locking member, to thereby allow the recording medium to be transferred between the carrier unit and the storage section or the drive unit; a picker position detector unit that detects a current position of the locking member to determine which of a plurality of predetermined points within the travel range the current position of the locking member corresponds to; and a controller unit that performs control to determine a current position of the recording medium within the travel range on the basis of an output of the picker position detector unit.
The recording media library apparatus of the present invention is characterized primarily in that control is performed for determining a current position of a recording medium indirectly on the basis of an output from the picker position detector unit that detects a current position of the locking member (known as a locking claw or picker in the art). This arrangement eliminates a need to provide a detector dedicated to directly detecting a current position of the recording medium within the predetermined travel range and can substantially simplify the structure of the library apparatus accordingly. As a result, the current position of the recording medium can be accurately detected with a simplified structure, which thus permits appropriate control of the library apparatus, such as medium transfer control for initializing a recording medium to a predetermined rest position at power-ON, control for properly positioning a recording medium for transportation between the carrier unit and the storage section or the drive unit.
In a preferred implementation of the present invention, the controller unit controls transfer of the recording medium by the medium transfer mechanism on the basis of the output of the picker position detector unit, to allow the recording medium to be properly placed or settled in a predetermined rest position. The predetermined rest position in the present invention is where the recording medium is completely stored in any one of the
Kimura Hitoshi
Komiya Takayuki
Suzuki Hiroyuki
Yokoyama Katsumasa
Chen Tianjie
Hitachi Electronics Engineering Co. Ltd.
Morrison & Foerster / LLP
Nguyen Hoa T.
LandOfFree
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