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US 2014/0371902 A1Published application
Fast-access self-repairing tape library using mobile robots
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorGary M. McClelland
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Various methods for threading a tape on the one or more reels onto the tape drive. A method according to one embodiment uses a mobile robot to thread a tape on the one or more reels onto the tape drive. A method according to another embodiment includes threading a tape across a tape drive by moving at least one of a tape reel and a take up reel coupled to the tape. A method according to yet another embodiment includes threading the tape across a tape drive using at least one of rollers and cylinders.
Claims20
A method, comprising:
- causing, using a controller, a mobile robot having a volume of less than about 1000 cubic inches to selectively retrieve one or more of a plurality of tape reels;
- and
- causing the mobile robot to transport the one or more retrieved tape reels to a tape drive that is configured for reading data from tape stored on at least one of the plurality of tape reels,
- wherein the mobile robot threads a tape on the one or more reels onto the tape drive.
1 more element
A method, comprising:
- causing, using a controller, a mobile robot to selectively retrieve at least one of a plurality of tape reels;
- causing the mobile robot to transport the at least one retrieved tape reel to a reel chuck;
- and
- threading a tape on the at least one retrieved tape reel across a tape drive by moving at least one of the tape reel and a take up reel coupled to the tape.
1 more element
A method, comprising:
- causing, using a controller, a mobile robot to selectively retrieve a pair of tape reels coupled to a tape;
- causing the mobile robot to transport the at least tape reels to a pair of reel chucks;
- and
- threading the tape across a tape drive using at least one of rollers and cylinders.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.