JP3607415B2 - Cartridge transport device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus for transporting a cartridge as a flat recording medium, and more particularly, has a function of pushing a cartridge into a drive or storage rack for writing / reading information or pulling out a cartridge from the drive or storage rack. The present invention relates to a cartridge transport device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a disk library apparatus that stores a large number of disks and writes / reads information to / from an arbitrary disk is known (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-209665, etc.). As schematically shown in FIG. 9, the disc library apparatus is pulled out from a storage rack 101 that stores a large number of cartridges 1, a drive 102 that writes / reads information to / from the cartridges 1, a drive 102, or a storage rack 101. The disk 1 is housed in a holder 103 and is composed of an elevating device 104 that elevates and lowers to a predetermined position.
[0003]
Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the lifting device 104 is provided with a transport device for pushing the cartridge 1 into the drive 102 or the storage rack 101 or pulling out the cartridge 1 from the drive 102 or the storage rack 101. This transporting device has a structure in which the arms 106 on both sides are tilted by winding the wire 106 by the drum 105 and the transporting rollers 108 at the leading end approach each other. By this operation, the cartridge 1 is sandwiched from both sides, the two transport rollers 108 are rotated by another drive mechanism, and the cartridge 1 is pushed into and pulled out from the storage rack 101 and the drive 102.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when the transport device is configured as described above, in order to pull out or push in the cartridge 1, it is necessary to separately provide a drive unit that rotationally drives the transport roller 108 in addition to the drive unit that tilts the arm 107. Further, in the above-described transport device, after the rear end surface of the cartridge 1 passes through the transport roller 108, the cartridge 1 can no longer be transported by the transport roller 108. Therefore, in order to completely load the cartridge 1 in the drive, a mechanism for pulling the cartridge into the drive is provided so that the cartridge can be continuously conveyed to the drive side after the conveyance by the conveyance roller 108 is completed, or It is necessary to provide a mechanism for pushing the cartridge 1 to the drive side separately from the transport mechanism by the roller 108 in the transport device.
[0005]
In addition, there is a case where a mechanism for reversing the holder 103 around the line 109 is employed corresponding to the cartridge 1 capable of writing / reading on both sides. In this case, the tip end side of the arm 107 protrudes. For this reason, the conveyance roller 108 and the like are in contact with the other cartridges 1 positioned above and below, and there is a drawback that such a reversing mechanism cannot be employed.
[0006]
The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and its purpose is to drive an arm portion that supports a conveyance roller and a conveyance roller that actually conveys a cartridge by a single drive unit, In addition, a cartridge transport device that can complete the loading of the cartridge into the drive without providing a separate pull-in mechanism or push-in mechanism to the drive and can prevent the cartridge from being obstructed when the cartridge is reversed is provided. There is to do.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
Accordingly, the cartridge transport device according to claim 1 is symmetrical with respect to the main drive shaft provided in the housing portion and both sides of the housing portion in the cartridge transport device that draws the cartridge into the housing portion and sends the cartridge out of the housing portion. And a pair of driven shafts driven in opposite directions in conjunction with rotation of the main drive shaft, and provided in correspondence with each driven shaft, and oscillating drive in conjunction with forward / reverse rotation of the driven shaft And a pair of arm portions for drawing and feeding the cartridge. Each of the arm portions includes a main gear provided coaxially with the driven shaft, a planetary gear meshing with the main gear, a transport roller interlocked with the planetary gear, a planetary gear including the main gear and the planetary gear. Provided in the gear train, when the main gear rotates in the cartridge pull-in direction, the planetary gear train rotating in conjunction with this rotation is allowed, and when the main gear rotates in the cartridge feed-out direction, interlocked with this rotation A one-way clutch that prevents rotation of the planetary gear train, and supports the planetary gear, the conveying roller, and the one-way clutch, and the base end portion is rotatably supported around the driven shaft, and the other end portion is free. And a support member that is an end.
[0008]
The cartridge transport apparatus according to claim 2 is configured as follows. The support member according to claim 1 is provided with a first arm supported at one end thereof so as to be rotatable around a driven shaft, and a support shaft provided at the other end of the first arm and provided at the connecting portion. And a second arm rotatable relative to the first arm, and each of the arm portions according to claim 1, wherein the second arm is centered on the support shaft with respect to the first arm. An elastic member that further generates a restoring force when rotating relatively and rotates the first arm and the second arm in the opposite directions is further provided.
[0009]
<Action>
The cartridge transport device operates as follows when the cartridge is pulled into the housing. When the main drive shaft is rotated in the cartridge pull-in direction by a drive motor or the like, this rotation is applied to the main gear via each driven shaft. Since the other end of the support member is a free end, when the main gear rotates, the planetary gear, the transport roller, and the one-way clutch that mesh with the main gear are integrated with the support member around the main gear. Then, it rotates and displaces to draw an arc around the main gear. The pair of arm portions are displaced so as to sandwich the cartridge from both sides by such a drive mechanism.
[0010]
The rotation of the arm portion stops in contact with the cartridge, but the main gear continues to rotate in conjunction with the main drive shaft. The rotation direction of the main gear is the direction in which the planetary gear train that receives the action of the one-way clutch is allowed to rotate. The rotation is transmitted to the planetary gear side, and this rotation is transmitted to the conveying roller. In this way, the transport roller is driven, and the cartridge is pulled into the housing portion.
[0011]
On the other hand, when the cartridge is sent out from the storage portion, after the cartridge is sent to a predetermined position in the storage portion, if the main drive shaft is rotated in the opposite direction by the drive motor or the like, this rotation is transmitted via the driven shaft. Given to the main gear. Since the other end of the support member is a free end, when the main gear rotates, the planetary gear, the transport roller, and the one-way clutch that mesh with the main gear rotate together with the support member, Displace to draw an arc around the gear.
[0012]
As the rotation continues, the pair of arm portions comes into contact with the rear end of the cartridge. In this case, the rotation direction of the main gear is a direction in which the planetary gear train subjected to the action of the one-way clutch is prevented from rotating, so that the main gear and the planetary gear can perform relative rotational movement. Can not. For this reason, the planetary gear does not rotate with respect to the main gear, and is continuously displaced so as to form an arc around the main gear, integrally with the main gear. Therefore, the arm portion can continue to rotate, and the rear end is pushed by the rotating arm portion, and the arm portion is sent out from the accommodating portion until the loading into the drive is completed.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0014]
FIG. 1 shows an enlarged view of a part of a disk library device provided with a cartridge transport device according to this embodiment. This disk library apparatus includes a storage rack section 2 for storing cartridges 1 as flat storage media in respective racks 2a, and a drive 3 for writing / reading information to / from the cartridges 1 is disposed above the storage rack section 2. Yes. Further, an elevating device 4 for elevating the cartridge 1 to a predetermined position is disposed at a position facing the storage rack portion 2 and the drive 3. The raising / lowering device 4 raises / lowers the support base 5 by the housing part 8 which accommodates the cartridge 1, the support base 5 which supports the housing part 8, the two shafts 6 which support the support base 5 slidably, and a vertical motion. A drive belt 7 is provided. Further, the lifting device 4 has a function of drawing the cartridge 1 accommodated in the rack 2 a or the drive 3 into the housing portion 8 or sending out the cartridge 1 accommodated in the housing portion 8 to the rack 2 a or the drive 3. A transport device 10 is provided.
[0015]
FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the transfer device 10, FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view, and FIG. 4 is a side view. The transport device 10 is provided with the arm portions 20 symmetrically on both sides of the housing portion 8 described above, and the cartridge 1 is pulled in and out by the pair of arm portions 20. Each arm portion 20 is driven to swing in conjunction with forward / reverse rotation of the driven shaft 21 located at the base end portion thereof, and the driving force is provided in the housing portion 8 and corresponds to a predetermined number of pulses. It is provided by a drive motor 40 (see FIG. 4) that is driven. In the driving force transmission mechanism, the main shaft 41 connected to the driving motor 40 rotates, and this rotation is transmitted through the driving gear train 42. The drive gear train 42 includes two gear trains that rotate in opposite directions, and is a mechanism in which the rotation of each gear train is applied to the driven shaft 21.
[0016]
5A and 5B are enlarged views of the longitudinal section of the arm portion 20. The main gear 22 and the one-way clutch 23 are provided coaxially with the driven shaft 21 described above. Although the main gear 22 rotates integrally with the driven shaft 21, the one-way clutch 23 can slide relative to the main gear 22 in the direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. The mechanism cannot slide in the opposite direction, and constitutes a so-called one-way clutch. In addition, the main gear 22 and the one-way clutch 23 are meshed with a planetary gear 24 in which two gears having different diameters are coaxially integrated. The structure is rotatable only in the direction indicated by the arrow b in a). The main gear 22, the one-way clutch 23 and the planetary gear 24 configured as described above constitute a planetary gear train. Further, since the transport roller 25 that transports the cartridge 1 meshes with the planetary gear 24, the transport roller 25 rotates in conjunction with the planetary gear 24.
[0017]
The planetary gear train configured in this way is supported by the flat first arm 31 and second arm 32. A base end portion of the first arm 31 is rotatably supported around the driven shaft 21, and an end portion of the second arm 32 overlaps with the other end portion of the first arm 31. Yes. A support shaft 33 is provided at the connecting portion, and the planetary gear 24 is rotatably supported by the support shaft 33. The second arm 32 is centered on the support shaft 33 and the first arm 32 is a first arm 32. The mechanism is rotatable with respect to the arm 31. Further, as shown in FIG. 5c, the second arm 32 is configured by integrating a lower support arm 32c, an upper support arm 32d parallel to the lower support arm 32c, and a connecting portion for connecting both the support arms. This connecting portion is formed so as to bend in the radial direction of the planetary gear 34 to avoid interference with the planetary gear 34. Further, a spring 34 is provided at the outer peripheral portion of the support shaft 33 at this continuous portion, and this spring 34 takes a reaction force between the inner surface of the planetary gear 24 and the lower support arm 32c, and the planetary gear. 24 is pressed against the upper support arm 32d. Thereby, the planetary gear 24 and the second arm 32 obtain a predetermined friction force between them by the pressing force of the spring 34. That is, the relative rotation of the planetary gear 24 with respect to the second arm 32 is prevented within the range of the frictional force. In the present embodiment, a felt is applied between the planetary gear 24 and the upper support arm 32d to generate a predetermined frictional force.
[0018]
A spring 35 is stretched between the arm portion 31 a of the first arm 31 and the arm portion 32 a of the second arm 32. By this spring 35, the second arm 32 is always given a rotational force relative to the first arm 31 in the direction indicated by the arrow D in FIG. For this reason, the first arm 31 is provided with a stopper 31b protruding from the surface thereof. In a steady state, the end 32b of the second arm 32 abuts against the stopper 31b and The relative rotation of the second arm 32 is suppressed, and the first arm 31 and the second arm 32 are integrated within the range of the tension of the spring 35.
[0019]
At the end of the second arm 32, a pushing roller 36 that contacts the rear end of the cartridge 1 when the cartridge 1 is delivered is provided.
[0020]
Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a pre-feed roller 43 and a pinch roller 47 that are rotationally driven are provided in the middle of the transport path 46 through which the cartridge 1 is transported. When the cartridge 1 is conveyed into the gap between the pinch roller 47 and the pinch roller 47, the cartridge 1 is fed into the housing portion 8 by the rotating pre-feed roller 43. The prefeed roller 43 is given a driving force of a driving motor 44 through a gear train 45.
[0021]
Here, as an operation of the transport apparatus 10 configured as described above, first, an operation of drawing the cartridge 1 accommodated in the rack 2a or the drive 3 into the housing portion 8 will be described (mainly refer to FIGS. 2 and 3). .
[0022]
During the pull-in operation, the drive shaft 40 is driven by the drive motor 40 in the direction indicated by the arrow H (FIG. 3), and this rotation is applied to each driven shaft 21 via the drive gear train 42. The main gear 22 rotates integrally with the driven shaft 21, and this rotation is transmitted to the planetary gear 24. However, the planetary gear 24 is prevented from rotating relative to the second arm 32 by a frictional force pressed against the upper support arm 32d of the second arm 32 by the reaction force of the spring 34, and the first arm 31 and the second arm 32 is integrated by a spring 35 and a stopper 31b, so that the rotation of the main gear 22 acts as a rotational force for rotating the first arm 31 and the second arm 32 around the driven shaft 21, and the main gear 22 The planetary gear 24 or the like meshed with the gear 22 is displaced so as to draw an arc around the main gear 22. That is, as a whole, the arm portion 20 in the arm standby position starts to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow (FIG. 2) about the driven shaft 21. In this way, the pair of arm portions 20 are displaced so as to sandwich the cartridge from both sides.
[0023]
As shown in FIG. 6, the rotation of each arm unit 20 is prevented from rotating by the conveyance roller 25 coming into contact with the side surface of the cartridge 1, but the main gear 22 continues to rotate in conjunction with the main drive shaft 41. The rotation direction of the main gear 22 is the direction in which the planetary gear train that receives the action of the one-way clutch 23 is allowed to rotate. Therefore, when the rotation of the arm portion 20 is prevented by contacting the cartridge 1. The rotation of the main gear 22 is transmitted to the planetary gear 24, and the planetary gear 24 is rotated against the frictional force between the upper support arm 32 d and this rotation is transmitted to the conveying roller 25. As a result, the cartridge 1 is transported by the transport rollers 25 that are in contact with both side portions thereof, and is drawn into the housing portion 8. The drawn cartridge 1 is sent to a predetermined position in the housing portion 8 by a pre-feed roller 43 that rotates at the same speed as the conveyance speed of the drawn cartridge 1. The rotations of the drive motor 40 and the drive motor 44 are controlled as follows. Both drive motors start rotating with the start of the pull-in operation, and one drive motor 40 rotates and stops at a predetermined number of steps until the cartridge 1 is reliably delivered to the pre-feed roller 43. The other drive motor 44 continues to rotate and rotates based on a detection signal from a sensor (not shown) provided in the housing 8 so as to output a signal when the cartridge 1 is transported to a predetermined position. Stop and end the pull-in operation.
[0024]
After the operation of retracting the cartridge 1 by the arm unit 20 is completed in this way, the drive motor 40 is inverted by a predetermined number of pulses, thereby reversing the rotation direction of the main drive shaft 41, and the arm unit 20 is moved to the arrow in FIG. Rotate in the opposite direction to F and move to the original arm standby position.
[0025]
On the other hand, when the cartridge 1 accommodated in the housing portion 8 is sent out to the predetermined rack 2a or the drive 3, the cartridge 1 is first sent out to the position shown in FIG. At the same time, the drive shaft 40 is driven by the drive motor 40 in the direction opposite to that of the arrow e (FIG. 3), and each driven shaft 21 is rotated in the direction opposite to that described above. As the driven shaft 21 rotates, the planetary gear 24 or the like meshed with the main gear 22 is displaced so as to draw an arc around the main gear 22 as described above. For this reason, the arm part 20 which was in the arm standby position starts to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow G (FIG. 2) around the driven shaft 21 as a whole.
[0026]
When the rotation continues, as shown in FIG. 7, the push rollers 36 at the tips of both arm portions 20 come into contact with the rear end of the cartridge 1. When the pushing roller 36 comes into contact with the cartridge 1, a force for preventing the rotation is applied to the arm portion 20, and the planetary gear 24 resists the frictional force between the upper support arm 32 b and the second arm 32 and the main gear. Therefore, the main gear 22 tends to start rotating relative to the arm portion 20. However, in this case, the rotation direction of the main gear 22 is a direction in which the planetary gear train that receives the action of the one-way clutch 24 is prevented from rotating. Rotation cannot be performed. For this reason, the planetary gear 24 does not rotate with respect to the main gear 22, and is continuously displaced so as to draw an arc around the main gear 22 together with the main gear 22. For this reason, the arm portion 20 continues to rotate as a whole, and the cartridge 1 is fed from the housing portion 8 in a state where the rear end is pushed by the pushing roller 36 in contact therewith.
[0027]
Furthermore, during this push-out operation, the second arm portion 32 rotates relative to the first arm 31 due to the reaction force of the push received from the drive 8 side via the cartridge 1 and the spring 35 is extended. (FIG. 7). Due to the restoring force of the extended spring 35, the second arm portion 32 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow H in FIG. 7 around the support shaft 33 and is pushed out to load the cartridge 1 into the drive 3. Will be given.
[0028]
The drive motor 40 rotates a predetermined number of steps until the cartridge 1 is loaded at a predetermined position of the drive 3 by the second arm portion 32 (the pushing roller 36 provided on the second arm portion 32) driven in this manner. Then stop.
[0029]
In this way, after the feeding operation of the cartridge 1 by the arm unit 20 is completed, the rotation direction of the main drive shaft 41 is reversed by the drive motor 40 and the main gear 22 is reversed. At this time, since the planetary gear 24 is restricted from rotating relative to the second arm 32 by the pressing force of the spring 34, the arm portion 20 also rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow G in FIG. Start rotating. At this time, at the initial stage where the reversal is started, the second arm 32 is rotated clockwise with respect to the first arm 31 by the spring 34 with the pushing roller 36 supported by the rear end surface of the cartridge 1. Therefore, it appears that only the first arm 31 rotates around the driven shaft 21, but after the second arm 32 comes into contact with the stopper 31b of the first arm 31 and the both arms are integrated, the first arm 31 The arm 31 and the second arm 32 rotate integrally. Then, the drive motor 40 is rotated by a predetermined number of steps until it is displaced to the original arm standby position, and the drive is stopped.
[0030]
In this way, the transport device 10 performs the drawing operation and the feeding operation of the cartridge 1. Since the transport device 10 is configured as described above, the arm portion 20 is not brought into contact with the storage rack 2 or the drive 3 by retracting both the arm portions 20 to the standby position described above, and the entire housing portion 8 is moved to the shaft l ( It is also possible to invert along (see FIGS. 1 and 4).
[0031]
In the embodiment described above, the example in which the one-way clutch 23 is provided coaxially with respect to the main gear 22 has been shown, but a configuration as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B can also be adopted. In this embodiment, the planetary gear 23 ′ supported rotatably with respect to the support shaft 33 has a structure in which a one-way clutch mechanism is incorporated. , With the same reference numbers. Even when the arm portion 20 ′ is configured in this way, the same operation as the above-described arm portion 20 can be performed, and a similar transfer device can be configured.
[0032]
Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which a rotational force is applied between the first arm 31 and the second arm 32 by the coiled spring 35 is shown, but instead of such a spring 35, the first arm 31 is provided. An elastic member that generates a restoring force may be employed between the first arm 32 and the second arm 32.
[0033]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the cartridge transport device according to each claim, the planetary gear train having the one-way clutch is provided in the arm portion, and the rotation of each driven shaft interlocked with the main driving shaft is used. Since the structure for driving the rotation of the conveying roller and the swinging of the arm portion is employed, the arm portion and the conveying roller for conveying the cartridge can be driven by the rotation of one main driving shaft. Also, when the cartridge pull-in operation or the feed-out operation is not performed, the arm portion can be swung and retracted to a predetermined position. It is also possible to prevent troubles.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an enlarged perspective view showing a part of a disk library device provided with a cartridge transport device according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a top plan view showing a cartridge transport device.
FIG. 3 is a lower plan view showing a cartridge transport device.
FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a cartridge transport device.
5A is a plan view of an arm portion, FIG. 5B is a sectional view thereof, and FIG. 5C is a perspective view showing only a second arm taken out.
FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the retracting operation of the arm portion.
FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the feeding operation of the arm unit.
FIGS. 8A and 8B are views showing another embodiment of the arm portion, in which FIG. 8A is a plan view and FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view thereof.
FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram schematically showing the configuration of a disk library device.
FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a conventional cartridge transport mechanism.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Cartridge, 8 ... Housing part (accommodating part), 10 ... Conveying device, 20 ... Arm part, 21 ... Drive shaft, 22 ... Main gear, 23 ... One-way clutch, 24 ... Planetary gear, 25 ... Conveying roller, 31 ... 1st arm (support member), 32 ... 2nd arm (support member), 35 ... Spring (elastic member), 41 ... Main shaft.

Claims (2)

In the cartridge transport device that pulls the cartridge into the housing and sends the cartridge out of the housing,
A main shaft provided in the housing;
A pair of driven shafts provided symmetrically on both sides of the housing portion and driven in opposite directions in conjunction with rotation of the main drive shaft;
A pair of arm portions that are provided corresponding to the driven shafts, are driven to swing in conjunction with forward and reverse rotation of the driven shafts, and draw and feed the cartridge;
Each arm part is
A main gear provided coaxially with the driven shaft;
A planetary gear meshing with the main gear;
A transport roller interlocking with the planetary gear;
Provided in a planetary gear train including the main gear and the planetary gear, and when the main gear rotates in the retracting direction of the cartridge, the rotation of the planetary gear train interlocking with the rotation is allowed, and the feeding direction of the cartridge A one-way clutch that prevents rotation of the planetary gear train linked to the rotation when the main gear rotates,
A cartridge transport device comprising: a support member that supports the planetary gear, the transport roller, and the one-way clutch, and a support member that has a base end rotatably supported around the driven shaft and a second end that is a free end. The support member is
A first arm whose one end is rotatably supported around the driven shaft;
A second arm that is connected to the other end of the first arm and is rotatable relative to the first arm around a support shaft provided at the connecting portion;
Each of the arm portions generates a restoring force when the second arm rotates relative to the first arm around the support shaft, and the first arm and the second arm are relatively moved. The cartridge transport device according to claim 1, further comprising an elastic member that rotates in a reverse direction.

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