Exabyte Corporation

Exabye Corporation

Steve W Small

John D Miller

John F Ellis

Robert Edwin Schneider

Brian P Egan

Bruce L Younglove

Ted F Kelley

Christopher J Clos

Everette C Van Wert

Curt Goodknight

Constance Kephart

Paul A Pedri

Magazine for data cartridges

An automated cartridge library has an essentially rectangular library frame which includes a frame front wall ( ) and a frame back wall ( ), and a library door ( ) provided on the frame front wall. A transport actuator and guide region ( ) is provided within the frame, the transport actuator and guide region including both a guideway along which a cartridge transport assembly ( ) reciprocates and an actuator ( ) which causes the cartridge transport assembly to rotate from a first transport position to a second transport position. A library front section includes a cartridge magazine cavity ( ) and a entry/exit port module ( ). A library rear section includes a region for tape drives ( ) and an auxiliary cartridge magazine ( ). Cartridge magazines ( ) are insertable into the cartridge magazine cavity when the library door is opened so that a reference surface of the cartridges face the transport actuator and guide region.

Cartridge library

An automated cartridge library (,) comprises a magazine mounting assembly (,) which holds at least one magazine (,) to a library frame (,), the magazine accommodating at least one cartridge (,) of information storage media. A cartridge transport system (,) transports cartridges between the magazine and a drive section (,). The magazine mounting assembly (,) comprises a magazine mounting surface (,) having a reflection region which is of contrasting reflectivity with another region of the magazine mounting assembly. A magazine guide flange (,) extends from the magazine mounting surface and has a label-bearing facet (,) formed thereon for each cell of the magazine, each facet being aligned with a corresponding cell. The magazine mounting assembly (,) further has two side walls (,) extending from a rear of the magazine mounting surface, planes of the two side walls being angularly inclined toward one another whereby a rear section of the magazine mounting assembly forms a wedge.

Cartridge library and method of operation thereof

An automated cartridge library (30) has plural cartridge receiving units which are precisely locatable so that a transport device (300) can accurately move a cartridge (90) between at least two of the cartridge-receiving units. The cartridge-receiving units and/or calibration cartridges inserted therein have an indicia (190) which is of contrasting reflectivity, the indicia having at least two sides (191, 192) which meet at a vertex (193). An illumination source (340) on the cartridge transport device makes two sweeps (Y1, Y2) of an illuminating beam over the indicia. Illumination transitions as detected by a sensor (350) during the two sweeps are used to determine a location of the indicia vertex (193). In the case of a cartridge-receiving unit being a multi-celled cartridge magazine, a rear wall (220) of the magazine has an aperture (222) for each cell. A mounting surface (60) upon which the magazine is mounted has a reflective portion (130) which is exposed through the aperture of the rear wall of the magazine when a cartridge is not in a predetermined cell in the magazine. To detect absence of a cartridge or a magazine, the illumination source directs an illuminating beam toward a predetermined position. A cartridge absence sensor (350) detects illumination reflected from the reflective portion of the mounting surface when the predetermined position is devoid of either a cartridge or a magazine.

Growing community of inventors

Golden, CO, United States of America

Steve W Small