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US 9,418,696 B2Granted
Fast-access self-repairing tape library using mobile robots
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorGary M. McClelland
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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.
Claims18
A method, comprising:
- causing, using a controller, a mobile robot having a volume of less than about 1000 cubic inches to selectively retrieve at least one of a plurality of tape reels;
- and
- causing the mobile robot to transport the retrieved tape reel 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 retrieved tape reel is a single reel of tape, wherein the mobile robot threads the tape on the retrieved reel tape reel onto the tape drive by moving an end of the tape not on the reel to an inboard drive wheel.
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 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.