Rotary information device for removable media
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsJames W. Johnson, David M. Davis, Nils Haustein, Craig A. Klein, Daniel J. Winarski
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A rotary switch rotates about an axis which is at acute angles to a lower cartridge surface and a cartridge end so that a first display surface and a second display surface may be independently accessed by disparate components residing in disparate planes. The display surfaces are generally orthogonal to each other and can have multiple facets, with each facet containing a subset of information. To aid this optical interrogation, the display surfaces may be generally orthogonal to the disparate interrogating components.
Claims27
A removable media comprising:
- a cartridge having a lower cartridge surface and a cartridge end;
- and
- a rotary switch including an axis of rotation and a first pair of display surfaces, said first pair of display surfaces including a first display surface arranged so that it may be accessed from the cartridge end and a second display surface arranged so that it may be accessed from the lower cartridge surface,
- wherein the axis of rotation is adapted to incline at a first acute angle from the lower cartridge surface and at a second acute angle from the cartridge end.
A method of reading information from a removable media having a rotary switch including an axis of rotation and a first pair of display surfaces, said first pair of display surfaces including a first display surface and a second display surface, comprising the steps of:
- arranging the first display surface so that it may be accessed from a cartridge end of a cartridge containing the rotary switch;
- and
- arranging the second display surface so that is may be accessed from a lower cartridge surface of the cartridge,
- wherein the axis of rotation is inclined at a first acute angle from the cartridge end and at a second acute angle from the lower cartridge surface.
A storage library, comprising:
- a processor;
- a gripper assembly coupled to the processor;
- at least one storage bin for holding a tape cartridge;
- and
- at least one tape cartridge configured to reside within the storage bin, said tape cartridge having a rotary switch, wherein the rotary switch comprises a first pair of display surfaces, said first pair of display surfaces including a first display surface arranged so that it may be accessed from the cartridge end and a second display surface arranged so that it may be accessed from the lower cartridge surface,
- wherein the axis of rotation is inclined at a first acute angle from the cartridge end and at a second acute angle from the lower cartridge surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.