This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-192423, filed Aug. 31, 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Embodiments described herein relate generally to a cassette for storing a plurality of optical disks and a changer apparatus to be loaded with the cassette.
There is provided a disk auto changer apparatus that includes a plurality of optical disk drives for writing or reading information to or from an optical disk, and performs parallel processing on the optical disks by each of the optical disk drives. This type of changer apparatus is provided with a carrier unit for automatically replacing the optical disks so that a plurality of optical disks is simultaneously used. The optical disks to be replaced are stored in a magazine so that the plurality of disks can be handled as a batch. Since the optical disk that stores therein important data is intolerant of even slight stain and dust, it is handled while being stored in a cassette.
There is also provided a magazine type cassette that stores therein a plurality of optical disks. Such a cassette is provided with trays on which optical disks are individually placed, a container for storing the trays while the trays are stacked together, and a shutter covering an opening portion through which the tray is pulled out. A shutter seals the opening portion so that the optical disk is not exposed to outside air when the cassette is handled. The optical disk is pulled out together with the tray through the opened shutter by the carrier unit, and is removed from the tray or returned to the tray by a chucking device.
In the meantime, the cassette that stores therein the optical disk is provided with a lock mechanism so that the shutter is not carelessly opened by a user. The lock mechanism is provided with a portion to be operated exposed outside so that the lock mechanism can be easily released by a mechanism provided in an optical disk drive or a disk changer apparatus. Since the lock mechanism has the portion to be operated exposed outside, the shutter is opened out of curiosity or carelessly by the user. When dust infiltrates inside the cassette, the reliability of the optical disk is spoiled.
Taking this into consideration, it is possible to make an arrangement so that the shutter does no open. However, when the structure of the lock mechanism is complicated, it not only requires more manufacturing cost but also increases a volume of the cassette. In addition, in the case of a magazine type cassette to be applied to a disk changer apparatus, there are some cases where a plurality of cassettes are used by being stacked together or placed adjacent to one another. Accordingly, it is desirable that the cassette with the shutter thereof opened not be bulky, or a mechanism provided on a side of an archive device not be complicated or bulky. Further, if the structure or the mechanism is complicated, it is not suitable for mass production, and the production cost cannot be reduced because it can only be used for a specific device.
In view of this, the present invention, according to an embodiment thereof, provides a cassette which stores an optical disk, is provided with a shutter that can be locked and released with a simple mechanism, and is excellent in the mass productivity and multiplicity of use, and a changer apparatus to be loaded with the cassette.
A general architecture that implements the various features of the embodiments will now be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate the embodiments and not to limit the scope of the invention.
Various embodiments will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In general, according to one embodiment, a cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an outer shell, a plurality of trays, a shutter, and a lock mechanism. The outer shell has an upper wall and a lower wall each including a square shape and a circular shape combined together, a side wall connecting between edges of the square shapes, and an opening portion provided between edges of the circular shapes. A tray includes a concave portion for placing an optical disk therein, is formed in an annular shape to support an outer peripheral edge of the optical disk, is stacked on top of one another and is stored between the upper wall and the lower wall. The shutter is formed in at least a semicircular shape along the edges of the circular shapes of the upper wall and the lower wall, includes a gear on an outer peripheral wall and a plurality of shelves on an inner peripheral wall of the shatter each to support each of the trays along at least half a perimeter, and rotates along the edges of the circular shapes from a first position for closing an opening portion to a second position for opening the opening portion. The lock mechanism is arranged between the side wall of the outer shell and a cylindrical surface along an outer peripheral wall of the shutter, and is held by an elastic force in an engaging position where the shutter is locked in a first position.
A cassette 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
Upon receiving data together with a recording command outputted from a host computer or the like, the changer apparatus 100 divides the data and performs parallel recording processing on the optical disks individually by the disk drives. Similarly, upon receiving a reading command from the host computer, the changer apparatus 100 reads the data that is divided and recorded individually on the optical disks by the disk drives 110, combines the data together as one piece of data, and outputs the data thus combined to the host computer. Here, a detailed method for dividing and recording the data, and a detailed method for combining the divided data are omitted. When the cassette 1 is removed from the changer apparatus 100, the transport mechanism returns the individual optical disks to the cassette 1 after post-processing of the recording or the like is performed, and ejects the cassette 1 through the slot 101.
The structure of the cassette 1 will be described in further detail.
The outer shell 2 includes an upper wall 21 and a lower wall 22 each of which having a shape resulted from combining a square shape and a circular shape together, a side wall 23 connecting between edges 211 and 221 of the square shapes of the upper wall 21 and the lower wall 22 individually, and an opening portion 20 formed by entirely opening the space between edges 212 and 222 of the circular shapes. As shown in
A plural number of trays 3 having the same shape, e.g., five in this embodiment as shown in
One example of the dimensions of the tray 3 is described here. A thickness in a vertical direction of the tray 3 is 2.7 mm, a thickness of a flange portion 301 on an outer circumference is 1.7 mm. Further, an inner diameter of the concave portion 31 for storing the optical disk D having a diameter of 120 mm and a thickness of 1.2 mm is 121.4 mm, a depth thereof is 1.5 mm. Since the tray 3 is formed in a ring shape, an inner diameter thereof in an opening portion is 110 mm.
The shutter 4 is formed in at least a semicircular shape along the edges 212 and 222 of the circular shapes of the upper wall 21 and the lower wall 22, respectively. As shown in the plan view of
The shutter 4, as shown in
The shutter 4 rotates along the edges 212 and 222 of the circular shapes from a first position (closed position) P1 that closes the opening portion 20 between the edges 212 and 222 of the circular shapes of the upper wall 21 and the lower wall 22, respectively, as shown in
As shown in
The outer shell 2 has a bay 24 which is opened in the side wall 23 for viewing the gear 411 formed on the outer peripheral wall 41 of the shutter 4. The bay 24 is arranged in a position in which a drive gear 104 prepared on a side of the changer apparatus 100 can be engaged while the shutter 4 moves from the first position P1 to the second position P2, and the position is a position in which operation required for pulling out the trays 3 from the cassette 1 is not disturbed.
In the case of this embodiment, the bay 24 opens in the side wall 23 of the outer shell 2, and is formed on a side of the lower shell 2B of the outer shell 2. The shutter 4 also blocks the bay 24. A stopper 231 against which the shutter 4 bumps while the shutter 4 is in the first position P1 and the second position P2 is provided inside the side wall 23 toward the opening portion 20 opposite to a side on which the bay 24 is provided.
Further, the outer shell 2 has a first mark 25 indicating a direction for inserting the cassette 1 into the changer apparatus 100, as shown in
In the case of this embodiment, the first mark 25 is arranged substantially in a center portion of the edge 212 of the circular shape of the upper wall 21. In addition, when the fitting holes 224 fit to the positioning pins, the outer shell 2 of the cassette 1 is positioned in a rotational direction with respect to a center axis around which the shutter 4 rotates inside the changer apparatus 100 into which the cassette 1 is inserted.
Further, it is also assumed to use a plurality of cassettes 1 while they are stacked together. In such a case, since the cassette 1 has the legs 225 as shown in
The outer shell 2 has a guide hole 26 in the side wall 23 adjacent to end portions of both the edges 212 and 222 of the circular shapes of the upper wall 21 and the lower wall 22, respectively. The guide hole 26 is used to position the guide rail 120 in a manner corresponding to the arrangement of a desired piece of the trays 3, when the changer apparatus 100 pulls out the tray 3 from the cassette 1 that is loaded in the changer apparatus 100. As shown in
When the trays 3 rotate to the second position P2 together with the shutter 4, each of the trays 3 has a notch 33 which engages with a hook 130 which is extended from the changer apparatus 100. In this embodiment, as shown in
As shown in
In this embodiment, the lock mechanism 5 includes an arm 51, an elastic member 52, and a release member 53. As shown in
The elastic member 52 may be a formed wire spring, a compression spring, a tension spring, blade spring, or an elastomeric such as an elastomeric resin or rubber instead of the helical torsion coil spring, or may be formed of a resin integrally with the arm 51. In addition, as shown in
Further, the cassette 1 includes an RID (Radio Frequency Identification) 6. As shown in
Further, by including information relating to the type of the optical disk D, a work involved in checking a wavelength suitable for the optical disk D can be eliminated. This means that a time required for initial operation when the optical disk D is accessed can be shortened.
A description will be given of operation for removing the optical disk D from the cassette 1 that is configured as described above. The cassette 1, while it is inserted into the changer apparatus 100, is in a state in which the opening portion 20 of the outer shell 2 is closed by the shutter 4 as shown in
When the lock mechanism 5 is released, a magnet 103 is brought closer to the release member 53 from outside of the side wall 23 of the outer shell 2, as shown in
When the lock mechanism 5 is disengaged, next, the drive gear 104 that is positioned outside the bay 24 as shown in
As shown in
In
When the guide rail 120 is connected to the cassette 1, then, a pair of hooks 130 of a tray picker is engaged with the notches 33 as shown in
As shown in
The tray 3 which is empty after the optical disk D is took out is pushed back toward the cassette 1 by the hook 130 of the tray picker as shown in
The optical disk D which is held by the disk picker is lowered onto the tray 111 of the disk drive 110 which is thrown out, chucking is disengaged, and the optical disk D is released from the disk picker. Upon completion of mounting the optical disk D from the cassette 1 to the disk drive 110, the tray 111 of the disk drive 110 is pulled in, and reading or writing of the optical disk D starts. A series of operation shown in
A procedure for collecting the optical disk D loaded in each of the disk drives 110 into the cassette 1 will be described. A process (unmeant) for taking out each of the optical disks D from the disk drive 110 is performed. The tray 111 of the disk drive 110 is ejected out, and the optical disk D is chucked by the disk picker to take it out from the tray 111. The guide rail 120 is engaged and fastened to the guide hole 26 of the cassette 1. The tray 3 which is empty is caught by the hook 130 of the tray picker and is pulled out.
The optical disk D which has been taken out by the disk picker is mounted on the tray 3, and the optical disk D is disengaged from the disk picker. The disk picker is retreated above the tray 3 that is pulled out. The tray 3 is pushed back by the hook 130 of the tray picker, and the hook 130 is disengaged from the tray 3 by detaching the guide rail 120 from the cassette 1 prior to the hook 130. This operation is repeated for each of five optical disks D.
When all of the optical disks D are put back to the cassette 1, the drive gear 104 that is engaged with the gear of the shutter 4 in the bay 24 is rotated counterclockwise, and the shutter 4 in the second position P2 is put back to the closed position which is the first position P1. The magnet 103 that holds the lock mechanism 5 in the release position R2 is moved away from the cassette 1 or an output of the electromagnet thereof is reduced. To state it differently, by reducing the magnetic flux density, the arm 51 is returned to the engaging position R1 by the biasing force of the elastic member 52, and the shutter 4 is locked. The cassette 1 in which the shutter 4 is locked is ejected through the slot 101 of the changer apparatus 100.
The positions of the first mark 25 and the second mark 45 may be checked to see whether the shutter 4 of the cassette 1 that is ejected from the changer apparatus 100 is completely closed or not. The shutter 4 is completely closed, when the positions of the first mark 25 and the second mark 45 coincide with each other in a rotational direction of the shutter 4. This means that, if the positions of the first mark 25 and the second mark 45 do not coincide with each other, the shutter 4 is not closed. In such a case, when the shutter 4 is rotated manually so that the second mark 45 coincides with the first mark 25, the lock mechanism 5 operates, and the shutter 4 is locked in the first position P1. Although the first mark 25 and the second mark 45 are located in a center portion of the edge 212 of the circular shape of the upper wall 21, they may be located in a place other than this.
When the cassette 1 is loaded, the changer apparatus 100 reads, from the RID 6 incorporated in the outer shell 2, an ID of the cassette 1 and an ID or the like of the optical disk D which is a medium stored in the cassette 1. In this case, the RID 6 stores therein types of the optical disks D stored in the cassette 1, ID information of the five optical disks D, ID information of the cassette 1, barcode information, and the like. The information about the types of the optical disks D is provided for the disk drive 110 into which the optical disks D are inserted. By referring to this kind of information, it makes changer apparatus 100 omits checking operation to directly read the types of the optical disks D from which are inserted.
In general, in an optical multi-disk drive, information is recorded on the optical disk D and reproduced (readout) using a near infrared laser (e.g., λ=780 nm) for a CD, a red light (e.g., λ=635 nm) laser for a DVD, and a purple light (e.g., λ=405 nm) laser for a BD (Blue-ray Disc). In the case there is no information, in advance, as to which type of disk is inserted, it is necessary to emit lasers having wavelengths of near infrared light, red light, and purple light sequentially to an optical disk, and to determine the type of the disk by detecting reproduction of a signal. When the information about the type of the optical disk is provided from the RID, it is possible, based thereon, to immediately read or write information by emitting a laser compatible with the inserted disk.
A cassette 1 according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to
A cassette 1 shown in
As shown in
Accordingly, the cassette 1 can be firmly held, when a receiving hole into which the rod 7 is inserted is provided in a position opposing the positioning pin in a portion where the cassette 1 is loaded in the changer apparatus 100. Further, it is possible to check that the cassette 1 is correctly loaded, when a sensor is provided in the receiving hole. In addition, since the rod 7 is structured to project toward a side of the upper wall 21, it is possible to easily determine the case where the cassette 1 is loaded upside down by mistake in the changer apparatus 100.
Furthermore, the rod 7 effectively functions when the plurality of cassettes 1 are stacked together and loaded in the changer apparatus 100.
A cassette 1 according to a third embodiment will be described with reference to
A cassette 1 shown in
As shown in
Further, the cassette 1 according to the third embodiment has a structure of a lock mechanism 5 which is different from that of the first embodiment and the second embodiment. As shown in
The lock mechanism 5 in the third embodiment, the tip 512 of the arm 51 engages with the gear 411. Accordingly, it can lock not only the shutter 4 in a first position P1 but also the shutter 4 that is incompletely closed. The tip 512 of the arm 51 engages with the gear 411 like a ratchet so that the shutter 4 closes by itself if a user applies a force to the shutter 4 in the case where the shutter 4 is incompletely closed.
Although the shutter 4 can be moved in a closing direction, it is locked by the lock mechanism 5 so as not to be moved in an opening direction. A boss 27 that supports a base portion 511 of the arm 51 is arranged closer to the side wall 23 than in the cases of the first and second embodiments, so that a force of constraint in an opening direction of the shutter 4 is enhanced. In other words, in the case where the shutter 4 is rotated in the opening direction of the shutter 4, the tip 512 of the arm 51 is structured to be deeply engaged into the gear 411 with respect to a tooth flank thereof. The gear 411 is formed substantially from one end to the other to drive the shutter 4. As a result, in any position in which the shutter 4 is incompletely closed, the shutter 4 is locked by the lock mechanism 5 so that the shutter 4 does not open further.
Since the cassettes 1 according to the first embodiment and the second embodiment are sealed types including the shutters 4, the cassettes 1 prevent a disk D from gathering dusts, and eliminate a cause for generating errors in data to be recorded on the optical disk D. The cassette 1 can be removed from the changer apparatus 100 and stored.
External dimensions of any of the cassettes 1 are not changed, i.e., occupied volume thereof are not changed, when the shutter 4 is opened. In addition, a half of the cassette 1 is formed of a circular shape larger than a circular optical disk by one size and the rest thereof has a square external shape. Accordingly, a mechanism for handling the cassette 1 in an apparatus using the cassette 1 can be reduced in size, which increases a freedom of mechanism design of the apparatus.
The cassette 1 stores the optical disk D one by one by means of a tray 3. However, the cassette 1 is not provided with a guide rail required for drawing out the tray 3 from the cassette 1. The cassette 1 is made lighter by incorporating a minimal function and structure as the cassette 1. Then, the cassette 1 has a guide hole 26 into which a fitting pin 122 provided at a tip 121 of a guide rail 120 is fitted so that positioning of the guide rail 120 provided in the changer apparatus 100 is simplified. Since the fitting pin 122 is inserted into the guide hole 26 of the cassette 1, the tip 121 of the guide rail 120 does not deviate when the tray 3 is drawn out. It is possible to decrease the rigidity of and simplify a mechanism of the changer apparatus 100 relating to the guide rail 120. Further, a time required for setting the cassette 1 can be reduced. As a result, by employing the above-mentioned mechanism in the cassette 1, positioning accuracy for inserting the guide rail 120 required for the changer apparatus 100 can be set lower.
By displaying the second mark 45 as a positioning mark on the shutter 4, it is easy to determine whether the shutter is correctly closed when the cassette is removed, and, even if it is incompletely closed, a user can easily close it.
In the shutter 4 of the cassette 1, since the lock mechanism 5 is released by the magnet 103, the lock mechanism 5 is not exposed outside the cassette 1. This means that a releasing method of the lock mechanism 5 is hard to understand by a user. This eliminates a possibility in that the user carelessly opens the shutter. Hence, a factor for allowing infiltration of dust is reduced, and the reliability of the optical disk D stored in the cassette 1 is improved. In addition, since information is divided and stored into five optical disks D, if the sequence of the optical disks D is altered, the information cannot be correctly reproduced. According to the cassette 1, since the optical disks D cannot be easily taken out, this also provides an effect of preventing a loading sequence of the optical disks D from being altered.
Since the cassette 1 is provided with the RID 6 storing therein the ID information of the cassette 1, the ID information and types of the stored optical disk D, and the like, it is possible to eliminate operation for checking the type of the optical disk D by the changer apparatus 100 and the disk drive 110 by reading, from the RID 6, the type of the stored optical disk D. This means that a time required for so-called “mounting” the optical disk can be reduced.
As described above, according to the cassette 1 of the foregoing embodiments, versatility is increased due to a simple structure, the reliability of the optical disk D stored inside can be maintained, and it is also suitable to adopt this as a standard.
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2012-192423 | Aug 2012 | JP | national |