The invention relates to changer devices, and more particularly, to disk changer devices.
Recently, as disks are widely used, management and access of disks is important for users. Thus, there is a need for an apparatus storing a plurality of disks, providing access thereto quickly without changing disks manually.
Embodiments of a disk change device comprises an interface unit coupled to a host system, in which at least one disk storage unit stores a plurality of disks and a control unit is coupled to the interface unit. A disk acquisition unit is coupled to the control unit, and comprises a gripper removing a desired disk from the disk storage unit, a first driver moving the gripper along a vertical direction, a second driver moving the gripper along a horizontal direction, and a disk push unit comprising at least one disk push rod, pushing the desired disk to the gripper from the disk storage unit, wherein the control unit drivers the gripper to retrieve the desired disk and deliver to a disk processing unit, according to a command from the host system.
Also disclosed are embodiments of a disk acquisition procedure, in which location of a desired disk in the disk storage unit is obtained according to a command from the host system. A corresponding vertical distance, a corresponding horizontal direction and a corresponding horizontal distance are obtained according to the location of the desired disk. The first driver and the second driver are driven to move the gripper to the location of the desired disk according to the corresponding vertical distance, the corresponding horizontal direction and the corresponding horizontal distance. The disk push unit is activated to push the desired disk to an opening of the gripper from the disk storage unit. Finally, the desired disk is retrieved and delivered to the disk processing unit.
Also disclosed are embodiments of a recovery procedure for abnormal power-down, in which a gripper's home position is detected. A normal initial procedure is executed when the gripper is in a home position, and whether the gripper is activated is detected when the gripper is not in the home position. A homing procedure and the normal initial procedure are executed when the disk push unit is activated. The home procedure comprises, opening the gripper, driving the second driver to move the gripper to a central position, closing the gripper, and moving the gripper to the home position. Whether a disk is present in the gripper is detected when the disk push unit is not activated. The disk is located to a backup slot in the disk storage unit and the homing procedure and the normal initial procedure are executed when the disk is held by the gripper. The gripper is moved to the home position and the normal initial procedure is executed when no disk is held by the gripper.
The invention can be more fully understood by the subsequent detailed description and examples with reference made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIGS. 7A˜7C are diagrams illustrating the disk acquisition procedure shown in
The disk changer device 100 comprises an interface unit 10, a control unit 20, a disk acquisition unit 30 and disk storage units 42 and 44. The interface unit 10 is coupled to the host system 300, the control unit 20 and the disk processing unit 200, in which the interface unit 10 is coupled to the host system through universal serial bus (USB) and coupled to the disk processing unit 200 through an integrated device electronics (IDE) interface. The disk storage units 42 and 44 shown in
The control unit 20 is coupled between the interface unit 10 and the disk acquisition unit 30, and, can for example, be a microprocessor or a processing unit, calculating location of a desired disk and obtaining a vertical distance, a horizontal direction (left or right) and a horizontal direction according to a command from the host system 300.
The disk acquisition unit 30 is coupled to the control unit 20 to deliver disks between the disk storage units 42 and 44 and the disk processing unit 200, and comprises a disk counting unit 32, a first driver 34, a second driver 36, a gripper 38 and a disk push unit 39. The first driver 34 drives the gripper 38 along the vertical direction, and the second driver 36 drives the gripper 38 along the horizontal direction. For example, the first driver 34 and the second driver 36 can be step motors, driving the gripper 38 along the vertical direction and the horizontal direction respectively. The gripper 38 retrieves a desired disk from the disk storage units 42 and 44, and the disk push unit 39, comprising two disk push rods 391 and 392 as shown in
The control unit 20 drivers the disk acquisition unit 30 to acquire a desired disk and delivers it to the disk processing unit 200. For example, the control unit 20 drives the first and second drivers 34 and 36 to move the gripper 38 to the location of the desired disk, activates the disk push unit 39 to push the desired disk to the gripper 38 from the disk storage unit, and drives the first and second drivers to deliver the desired disk to the disk processing unit 200. The disk counting unit 32 counts the disks in the disk storage units 42 and 44. For example, the disk counting unit 32 can comprise two disk counters to count the disks in the disk storage units 42 and 44 respectively. Each disk count can include an emitter and a receiver disposed on the gripper 38 and the disk push rods 391 and 392 respectively, such that a disk is determined to be present when the receiver cannot receive the signal from the corresponding emitter.
As shown in
Then, in step S212, the control unit 20 detects whether the opening 381 is opened by the sensor 384 in the gripper 38. If the opening 381 is not opened, a first error elimination procedure is executed in step S214. If the opening 381 is opened, the control unit 20 drives the second driver 36 to move the gripper 38 the horizontal distance Dh from the central position P0 along the horizontal direction and to reach the location CG1 of the desired disk 46 in step 216. Then, in step S218, the control unit 20 activates the disk push unit 39 to push the desired disk 46 to the opening 381 from the disk storage unit 42. In this embodiment, the control unit 20 activates the disk push rod 391 of the disk push unit 39 to push the desired disk 46 to the opening 381 of the gripper 38. In step S220, the control unit 20 activates the gripper 38 to close the opening 381, as shown in
In step S228, the control unit 20 drives the first driver to move the gripper 38 to the disk load position PF1 such that the desired disk 46 can be processed by the disk processing unit 200 as shown in
If the disk push unit 39 is activated in step S306, the control unit 20 executes a homing procedure and the normal initial procedure in step S304 and the recovery procedure is complete. In the homing procedure, the opening 381 of gripper 38 is opened, the second driver 36 is driven to move the gripper 38 to the central position CP, the opening 381 of the gripper 38 is closed, and the gripper 38 is moved to the home position P0.
If the disk push unit 39 is not activated in step S306, the control unit 20 detects whether the gripper holds a disk in step S310. If not, the control unit 20 drives the first and second drivers to move the gripper 38 to the home position P0. Then, a normal initial procedure in step S304 is executed and the recovery procedure is complete.
If a disk is held by the gripper 38, the control unit 20 drives the first and second drivers to move the clipped disk to backup slots 441 or 442 in the disk storage units 42 and 44 in step S314. Then, the homing procedure in step S308 and the normal initial procedure in step S304 are executed and the recovery procedure is complete.
The invention moves the gripper to the home position and the held disk to the backup slot in order to prevent abnormal operation after the disk changer device is abnormally powered down.
While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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93119480 | Jun 2004 | TW | national |