Dynamic information storage or retrieval – Information location or remote operator actuated control – Selective addressing of storage medium
Patent
1996-07-23
1999-08-17
Miller, Brian E.
Dynamic information storage or retrieval
Information location or remote operator actuated control
Selective addressing of storage medium
360 92, G11B 1722
Patent
active
059403560
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention is an automatic modular system for filing and playing compact discs (CDs) with unlimited expansion capabilities over the three dimensions of space and a corresponding increase in the CD capacity, where a microcomputer (PC) has the control of the CD selection and playing, utilizing information files (data base) and with the help of several servomechanisms. (From this point on and throughout the text, the term CD is used to represent any sort of digital disk and is not limited to any certain type, such as audio-CD or other).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The system utilizes known technology, such as CD player units of various CD formats (i.e. audio-CD, photo-CD, CD-ROM etch.), microcomputer units (PCs) and their peripherals and step-motors with their drives and indexers. The concept of a device which selects music records by pressing the appropriate buttons and automatically plays the selections is fairly old (Juke Box) and has been widely utilized for vinyl music records. Nowadays, there are devices that store digital disks, Audio-CD or CD-ROM, with the capability of choosing and playing the pre-selected recorded material. Those systems cannot, in any way, be described as filing systems, because they can store only a limited number of disks and they are not expandable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The proposed system bears the following characteristics: three dimensions of space, to cover the need for increased number of CDs, and at the same time updating the information files of the PC with the CD contents and the system topology. The capacity of a stand alone system is between 100 and 38,050 CDs whereas in a network of such systems it is practically and theoretically unlimited. As an automatic modular system for filing and playing CDs it selects, by mechanical means, the desired CD and carries it to the CD player. It plays the selection and returns the CD to its original position. following structure described below: basic system and controls the system functions, performs the management of the information files, controls the communication interface through a PC and its peripherals. Units (SU), which are added to the CU over all three dimensions, thus increasing the filing capabilities of the system. all the SUs of the system all over the three dimensions and which utilizes node modules, the Node Units (NUX, NUY) as its branch nodes. Case--DCs), between the CU (which is responsible for the playing as well as the physical and data I/O of the CD) and the SU (where the CDs are stored). The transport of the DCs, carrying the CD, is accomplished with carrier mechanisms, such as the X Carrier (XC)--responsible for the X-dimension move, the Y Carrier (YC)--responsible for the Y-dimension move and the Z Carrier (ZC)--responsible for the Z-dimension (vertical) move, where XYZ corresponds to three dimensions in space. with a capacity of 100 CDs, as a base we can increase, practically without limit, the system capacity according to our needs, with the addition of NUX and NUY units, at the base level, and a stack of SUs, on top of them, with a capacity of 150 CDs each SU. For each additional unit (NUX, NUY, SU) and each additional CD, both the system information files containing the system topology and the CD ID, i.e. its position coordinates, contents, registration information etc., are updated correspondingly. Using the system, the user can expand the system into all three dimensions, according to his/her available space and the amount of his/her CDs, adding NUXs, NUYs and SUs. The fact that the system expands into all three dimensions does not create any access problem because the access is realized by the system itself with the aid of servomechanisms (XC, YC, ZC).
The system allows a user to choose any selection from any stored CD, using any of the CU inputs (i.e. keyboard or remote control accessing the serial input) through various appropriate interface programs or data files. The PC, based on the updated information files, will locate the CD which contains the desired sel
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