Data cartridge

In the present invention, an information recording medium and a non-contact type memory cartridge are arranged inside the case body, and the memory cartridge is in a wireless connection state between the library machine and the memory reader on the drive device side. The present invention relates to a data cartridge capable of reading and writing various data in the memory cartridge.

The memory cartridge arranged inside the case of the data cartridge includes a contact type and a non-contact type. Both can read and write characteristic data of information recording media such as magnetic tapes and setting data at the time of recording. It is also being considered to add a non-contact type memory cartridge to a tape cartridge mainly used as a data recording medium of a computer, in which a directory of data files recorded on the tape, usage history data, etc. are stored in the memory cartridge. It is stored in the computer to realize quicker data retrieval and accurate data management, and also records manufacturer data such as lot number, tape specifications and characteristics.

A group of tape cartridges for recording computer data as described above is managed by a library machine. In this type of library machine, the desired tape cartridge is removed from a rack containing a large number of tape cartridges and loaded into a compatible tape drive. Specifically, the tape cartridge housed in the rack is grabbed by the hand part of the automated library machine and loaded into the tape drive. At this time, a memory reader including an antenna provided in the hand section reads the recorded data in the memory cartridge to grasp the specifications of the tape cartridge and the outline of the data, and prevents the wrong tape cartridge from being loaded into the tape drive. Or, different types of tape cartridges can be loaded into compatible tape drives. A similar memory reader is provided on the side of the tape drive.

The placement position of the memory cartridge inside the tape cartridge is determined by the placement position of the memory reader in the tape drive and library machine. In many cases, the memory cartridge is arranged along the rear end wall of the tape cartridge, which is the end side of loading into the tape drive (see Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). This is because the library machine generally grabs the rear end of the tape cartridge, so if the memory cartridge is placed at that position, a good wireless connection with the memory reader provided on the library machine side can be achieved. By being able to secure. Further, on the tape drive side, a memory reader is provided near the opening of the cartridge loading port in accordance with the above-mentioned arrangement position of the memory cartridge.

<patcit num="1"><text>Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-117643 (Fig. 1, Fig. 4, Fig. 6)</text></patcit><patcit num="2"><text>JP-A-2002-117644 (Fig. 1, Fig. 3, Fig. 5, Fig. 6)</text></patcit>

<p> The present inventors are involved in the development of a new tape cartridge management system, in which a memory reader on the tape drive side is planned to be installed near the back end of the cartridge loading port for design reasons. ing. Therefore, in the conventional tape cartridge provided with the memory cartridge on the loading end side, there is a problem that the distance between the memory reader on the tape drive side and the memory cartridge is long and the wireless connection state cannot be established.</p><p> An object of the present invention is to transmit a read / write signal between a memory reader on the drive device side and a memory reader on the library machine side even when the memory reader on the drive device side is installed near the inner end of the cartridge loading port. An object of the present invention is to provide a data cartridge provided with a non-contact type memory cartridge capable of reliably transmitting and receiving.</p>

<p> In the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, an information recording medium 3 and a non-contact type memory cartridge M are arranged inside the case body 1, and the memory cartridge M is a library machine 43 and a drive. It is a data cartridge that can read and write various data in the memory cartridge M by establishing a wireless connection with the memory readers R1 and R2 on the device 47 side.</p><p> In such a data cartridge, according to the present invention, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 1, the first communication position in which the memory cartridge M establishes a wireless connection state with the memory reader R1 on the library machine 43 side (see FIG. 4). And, as shown by the virtual line in Fig. 1, it is configured to be displaceable in the case body 1 between the memory reader R2 on the drive device 47 side and the second communication position (see Fig. 5) that establishes the wireless connection state. It is characterized by being.</p><p> The data cartridge of the present invention includes a single reel type tape cartridge used for backing up computer data, and a tape cartridge having a pair of left and right reels in the case body. Further, as the type of the information recording medium 3, in addition to the magnetic recording tape, a magneto-optical disk and the like can be mentioned, and therefore, the data cartridge according to the present invention also includes a disk cartridge in which the magneto-optical disk and the like are built-in. It is a concept.</p><p> Specifically, the first communication position is the position near the rear end of the case body 1 which is the end side of loading the data cartridge into the drive device 47, and the second communication position is the position near the rear end of the data cartridge drive device 47. This is the position near the front end of the case body, which is the loading start end side. As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of front and rear guide rollers 22 and 23 are rotatably supported around the shafts 20 and 21 in the case body 1, and an endless belt 25 is provided between these guide rollers 22 and 23. It is wrapped. A memory cartridge M is fixed to the endless belt 25 so that the memory cartridge M can be displaced and moved between the first communication position and the second communication position as the endless belt 25 is rotated. ..</p><p> As shown in FIG. 5, an operating member 52 for displacement-moving the memory cartridge M is projected near the opening of the cartridge loading port 48 of the drive device 47 toward the internal gap of the cartridge loading port 48. .. A long groove 35 in the front-rear direction is formed in the wall surface of the case body 1 facing the operating member 52, and the operating member is formed in the groove 35 when the data cartridge is inserted and loaded into the drive device 47. The engaging member 33 that is engaged and captured by 52 is supported so as to be slidable.</p><p> The engaging member 33 is mounted at a symmetrical position of the memory cartridge M on the endless belt 25, and when the engaging member 33 is slid and moved in the groove 35, the endless belt 25 is rotated. ing. The engaging member 33 is located near the front end, which is the loading start end side, before the data cartridge is inserted into the drive device 47 and loaded.</p><p> Then, as the data cartridge is inserted and loaded into the drive device 47, the engaging member 33 engaged and captured by the operating member 52 moves in the groove 35 from the loading start end side to the loading rear end side, and accordingly. The endless belt 25 is rotated to move the memory cartridge M from the first communication position to the second communication position.</p>

<p> The first communication position (see Fig. 4) that establishes a wireless connection state with the memory reader R1 on the library machine 43 side, and the second communication position (see Fig. 4) that establishes a wireless connection state with the memory reader R2 on the drive device 47 side. Since the memory cartridge M is displaceable in the case body 1 with (see Fig. 5), the arrangement position of the memory reader R1 on the library machine 43 side and the arrangement of the memory reader R2 on the drive device 47 side. Read / write signals can be transmitted and received reliably between both memory readers R1 and R2 regardless of their position. In addition, the degree of freedom in design regarding the arrangement positions of the memory readers R1 and R2 in the library machine 43 and the drive device 47 is improved.</p><p> An endless belt 25 is rotatably wound around a pair of guide rollers 22 and 23 arranged in the front and rear, and if the memory cartridge M is fixed to this endless belt 25, it can be reliably configured with a simple configuration. , The memory cartridge M can be displaced and moved between the first communication position near the rear end of the case body 1 and the second communication position near the front end. This can contribute to reducing the overall cost of the data cartridge.</p><p> An engaging member 33 is mounted at a symmetrical position of the memory cartridge M on the endless belt 25, and is engaged and captured by the operating member 52 on the drive device 47 side as the data cartridge is inserted and loaded into the drive device 47. The engaging member 33 moves in the groove 35 from the loading start end side to the loading rear end side, and the endless belt 25 is rotated accordingly, so that the memory cartridge M moves from the first communication position to the second communication position. If the displacement is made to move, the overall structure can be simplified and the data cartridge can be manufactured at low cost as compared with the form in which the endless belt 25 is rotated by a drive mechanism equipped with a motor or the like. ..</p>

1 to 7 show an example in which the data cartridge according to the present invention is applied to a single reel type tape cartridge. In FIGS. 2 to 4, the tape cartridge has a square box-shaped case body 1 formed by connecting the upper and lower cases 1a and 1b in a lid-to-cover manner, and tapes (tapes) to one reel 2 arranged in the case body 1. Information recording medium) 3 is wrapped.

A tape outlet 5 is provided at one side end (right end) of the front side wall of the case body 1. A tip conductor 6 that is captured and connected by a connector on the tape drive side is provided at the feeding end of the tape 3. The tip conductor 6 when not in use is held and fixed in an upright standby posture by catch mechanisms provided above and below the inner surface of the tape outlet 5. The "forward direction" referred to here means a direction that is the loading start end side of the tape drive (drive device) 47, and the "rear direction" is a direction opposite to the loading start end side (loading). It means the direction of the end side).

As shown in FIG. 2, the inside of the case main body 1 is a partition wall 10 parallel to the left and right side walls 7 and 9, and the main chamber 11 occupying most of the case main body 1 and the sub chamber 12 smaller than the main chamber 11. It is divided into. As shown in FIG. 3, the partition wall 10 is projected inward from each of the upper and lower cases 1a and 1b, and is butt-joined. The main chamber 11 has a substantially regular quadrangle, and of the inner corners thereof, the inner corners on all three sides except the tape outlet 4 are substantially arcuate by the arc-shaped floating regulation wall 13 along the peripheral edge of the reel 2. A triangular inner corner vacant space S is formed as a section. Of these, a switching piece 15 for preventing erroneous erasure is arranged in the inner corner space S on the front left side of the case body 1.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the sub-chamber 12 has a rectangular shape long in the front-rear direction, which is divided by front and rear side walls 16 and 17, left side wall 7 and partition wall 10, and has a memory inside. A cartridge M and a displacement mechanism 19 that displaces the memory cartridge M in the front-rear direction are incorporated.

The displacement mechanism 19 includes a pair of front and rear shafts 20 and 21 provided at the front and rear ends of the sub chamber 12, and two guide rollers 22 and 23 rotatably provided around the respective shafts 20 and 21. , The endless belt 25 wound between these guide rollers 22 and 23 is provided. The memory cartridge M is mounted and fixed to the endless belt 25, and when the endless belt 25 is rotated around the guide rollers 22 and 23, the memory cartridge M moves with the endless belt 25 and is inside the sub chamber 12. It is designed so that it can be displaced and moved in the front-back direction. More specifically, the memory cartridge M has a first communication position near the rear end of the case body 1 as shown by a solid line in FIG. 1 and a first communication position near the front end of the case body 1 as shown by a virtual line in FIG. It is configured to be displaceable between the two communication positions.

As shown in FIG. 3, the shafts 20 and 21 are a pair of upper and lower pillars 26 and 26 projecting inwardly facing each other from the upper and lower cases 1a and 1b, respectively, and guide rollers are provided in the facing gaps. 22 and 23 are mounted rotatably. The guide rollers 22 and 23 are columnar plastic molded products, and are provided with a groove 27 for receiving the endless belt 25 at the center of the outer peripheral surface in the vertical direction. Thus, in a state where the endless belt 25 is wound between the guide rollers 22 and 23, as shown in FIG. 2, the front and rear semi-arc portions along the outer peripheral surface of the guide rollers 22 and 23 and these semi-arc portions It has a horizontally long front and rear shape with left and right straight portions connecting the spaces.

The memory cartridge M is a non-contact type, horizontally long rectangular substrate 30 having insulating properties, an IC chip 31 arranged on one side of the substrate 30, and an IC chip 31 arranged on the substrate 30 so as to surround the periphery of the IC chip 31. It consists of an antenna (not shown). The memory cartridge M is in a posture in which the plate surface of the substrate 30 is perpendicular to a predetermined position on the straight portion on the right side of the endless belt 25 wound between the guide rollers 22 and 23, that is, on the inner straight portion. Moreover, the IC chip 31 is mounted via the memory holder 32 in a posture of facing the inside of the case (to the right in the illustrated example).

In FIGS. 1 to 3, reference numeral 33 indicates a slider (engagement member) mounted and fixed at a symmetrical position of the memory cartridge M on the endless belt 25. The slider 33 is mounted and fixed to the endless belt 25 in an inseparable manner, and is slidably mounted in a groove 35 long opened in the front-rear direction on the left side wall 7 of the case body 1, so that the endless belt 25 can rotate. Along with this, it can slide forward and backward along the groove 35. The slider 33 includes a main surface wall 36 that comes into surface contact with the endless belt 25, a secondary surface wall 37 that is provided parallel to the outer side of the main surface wall 36, and a connecting wall 38 that connects the main surface wall 36 and the secondary surface wall 37. It is a plastic molded product having an H-shaped cross section, and is mounted and fixed at a predetermined position of the endless belt 25 by a hooking claw 39 protruding from the upper and lower ends of the main surface wall 36 toward the endless belt 25 side. At the center of the board surface of the secondary wall 37, a columnar operating protrusion 40 that is engaged and captured by an operating member on the tape drive 47 side, which will be described later, is projected outward.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, reference numeral 42 indicates the hand portion of the library machine 43. The hand portion 42 is composed of upper and lower handles 45 and 45 and a connecting portion 46 that connects them. The hand portion 42 takes out one tape cartridge from a rack in which a plurality of tape cartridges are stored, and pulls it out. The tape drive 47 is loaded into the cartridge loading port 48. The hand portion 42 sandwiches and holds the central portion in the left-right direction near the rear end of the case body 1 from the outside in the up-down direction. A jig 49 is cantilevered from the left end surface of the connecting portion 46 of the hand portion 42, and a memory reader R1 is provided on the jig 49.

As shown in FIG. 5, inside the cartridge loading port 48 of the tape drive 47, a loading frame 50 that receives and supports the tape cartridge inserted and loaded from the loading port 48 is provided, and the inside of the loading frame 50. A memory reader R2 is installed at the front end on the left side of the back.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the vicinity of the opening of the loading frame 50 facing the cartridge loading port 48, the slider 33 is engaged and captured during the insertion and loading operation of the tape cartridge into the tape drive 47, and the memory cartridge M is displaced and moved. An operating member 52 for operating is projected inward toward the internal gap of the cartridge loading port 48. That is, the operation member 52 is arranged so as to face the movement locus of the slider 33 during the loading operation of the tape cartridge. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the operating member 52 is formed by cutting and raising the side wall 53 of the loading frame 50 inward, and holds and holds the operating protrusion 40 of the slider 33 from above and below. It is formed in a U shape with the elastic arm 55 of the book. Between these elastic arms 55 and 55, a partial arc-shaped recess 56 that substantially matches the outer shape of the operation protrusion 40 is formed.

Next, the displacement operation of the memory cartridge M by the displacement mechanism 19 accompanying the insertion and loading operation of the tape cartridge into the tape drive 47 will be described. First, the hand portion 42 of the library machine 43 takes out one tape cartridge from the rack in which a plurality of tapes are stored. In this state, the memory cartridge M is in the first communication position near the rear end of the case body 1 as shown by the solid line in FIG. 1, and the slider 33 at the symmetrical position between the memory cartridge M and the endless belt 25 is the case. It is located near the front end of the main body 1.

When in such a first communication position, the memory cartridge M and the memory reader R1 are extremely close to each other, so that both establish a good wireless connection state, and therefore the memory reader R1 has management information in the memory cartridge M, etc. By reading out, the library machine 43 can grasp the recorded contents of the tape cartridge and the like.

Next, when the tape cartridge is loaded into the tape drive 47 from the library machine 43, the slider 33 is engaged and captured by the operating member 52 on the tape drive 47 side. From that state, when the tape cartridge is further inserted into the tape drive 47 and loaded, the entire tape cartridge moves into the tape drive 47, and the slider 33 relatively moves in the groove 35 toward the rear end of the case body 1. It will move. Due to the backward movement of the slider 33, the endless belt 25 is rotated counterclockwise as shown by the arrow in FIG. 1, and the memory cartridge M is moved from the first communication position shown by the solid line to the virtual line. Displace and move to the second communication position shown.

When in such a second communication position, as shown in FIG. 5, since the memory cartridge M and the memory reader R2 are in a facing positional relationship, the memory reader R2 establishes a wireless connection state with the memory cartridge M. Then, the tape drive 47 reads and writes various information such as stored directory information and management information in the memory cartridge M.

The memory cartridge M can be fixed to the endless belt 25 with an adhesive, adhesive tape, or the like. The shape of the operating member 52 and the engagement capturing structure of the slider 33 by the operating member 52 are not limited to those listed in the above-described embodiment.

<figref num="1">Internal plan view of the main part of the data cartridge according to the present invention</figref><figref num="2">Internal plan view of the data cartridge according to the present invention</figref><figref num="3">AA line sectional view of FIG.</figref><figref num="4">Perspective view showing the acquisition state of the data cartridge by the library machine</figref><figref num="5">Top view showing the state of the tape cartridge in the tape drive</figref><figref num="6">Side view of the main part of the drive device</figref><figref num="7">BB line sectional view of FIG.</figref>

Code description

1 Case body 3 Information recording medium (tape) 20 Axis 21 Axis 22 Guide roller 23 Guide roller 33 Engagement member (slider) 35 Groove 42 Hand part 43 Library machine 47 Drive device (tape drive) 48 Cartridge loading port 52 Operation member M Memory cartridge R1 Memory reader on the library machine side R2 Memory reader on the tape drive side