Apparatus for automatically conveying cartridges

An apparatus for automatically conveying cartridges, comprising:

• an entry rack storing a cartridge which is connected to a library unit which is awaiting processing;
• an exit rack containing a cartridge that has been processed;
• an accessor mechanism having an accessor having catcher hands which grip a cartridge and a catcher drive mechanism which drives the catcher hands and a detector detecting the presence of a cartridge on a rack which conveys cartridges;
• a conveyance control unit which conveys cartridges by controlling said accessor mechanism;
• a presence-of-cartridge sensor which detects the presence of a cartridge on said rack, said conveyance control unit being equipped with a cartridge detection control unit which, when the power source circuit is closed, brings the accessor selectively to the entry rack and to the exit rack, so that said presence-of-cartridge sensor detects the cartridge on the corresponding rack;
• and
• said conveyance control unit further comprises a cartridge correction control unit which, at the time of detecting a cartridge on each of the entrance and exit racks, as controlled by said cartridge detection control unit, causes the catcher hands to grip a cartridge on the corresponding racks in advance, by taking into consideration a circumstance in which the cartridge may not have been properly placed on the rack, and permits the cartridge to be released, so that the cartridge is properly placed on the corresponding rack.

An apparatus for automatically conveying cartridges, comprising:

• an entry rack storing a cartridge which is connected to a library unit which is awaiting processing;
• an exit rack containing a cartridge that has been processed;
• an accessor mechanism having an accessor having catcher hands which grip a cartridge and a catcher drive mechanism which drives the catcher hands and a detector detecting the presence of a cartridge on a rack which conveys cartridges;
• a conveyance control unit which conveys cartridges by controlling said accessor mechanism;
• a presence-of-cartridge sensor which detects the presence of a cartridge on said rack, said conveyance control unit being equipped with a cartridge detection control unit which, when the power source circuit is closed, brings the accessor selectively to the entry rack and to the exit rack, so that said presence-of-cartridge sensor detects the cartridge on the corresponding rack;
• and
• said conveyance control unit further comprises a sensor function check unit which, when a cartridge is to be discharged into said exit cell, determines if there is a cartridge in the exit cell by using said presence-of-cartridge sensor and, when a cartridge in the exit cell is detected, checks if said presence-of-cartridge sensor is functioning properly or not.

An apparatus for automatically conveying cartridges, comprising:

• a rack mechanism having racks which hold cartridges of recording media;
• an accessor mechanism having an accessor which conveys cartridges, the accessor comprising catcher hands which grip a cartridge and a catcher hand drive mechanism which drives the catcher hands and a presence-of-cartridge sensor which detects a cartridge on a corresponding rack of the rack mechanism and the position of the corresponding rack;
• and
• a conveyance control unit controlling the conveyance of cartridges by controlling said accessor mechanism and further comprising a rack position correction unit which moves the accessor to an empty rack, detects the position of the empty rack, using said presence-of-cartridge sensor, to find a difference from a position where the rack should be, and stores said difference in a memory as a correction value for positioning the accessor at the corresponding rack.

An apparatus for automatically and selectively conveying cartridges of recording media to and from a recording/reproducing apparatus, selectively for insertion thereinto and ejection therefrom, comprising:

• a rack mechanism which holds plural cartridges of recording media therein;
• an accessor mechanism having catcher hands selectively movable to an opened state for receiving, or releasing, a cartridge and to a closed state for gripping a received cartridge;
• a detector detecting the opened or the closed state of the catcher hands;
• a controller, in response to the state of the catcher hands detected by the detector, selectively controlling the catcher hands to move to the closed state to grip a received cartridge or to the opened state to receive a selected cartridge or to release a currently gripped cartridge and controlling the accessor mechanism to convey a cartridge, as gripped by the catcher hands, for insertion into a selected position therefor, or ejection from a current position thereof, in the rack mechanism;
• and
• a presence-of-cartridge detector detecting the presence of a cartridge, the controller controlling the position of the accessor mechanism and, thereby, the position of the presence-of-cartridge detector so as to sense a selected rack position for determining proper functioning of the presence-of-cartridge detector so as to position the presence-of-cartridge detector at a selected rack position at which a cartridge will not be detected and, in response to a non-cartridge detection output of the presence-of-cartridge detector, confirming proper functioning thereof.