The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 09, 2002
Filed:
Jul. 27, 1999
Yoshiaki Kusunoki, Tokyo, JP;
Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A disc library apparatus has shelves for storing discs, at least one drive for accessing information on the discs, a motor-driven carrier that transports discs between the shelves and the drive, and a control unit. The carrier has a sensor for sensing discs. Each drive preferably has a stopper for restraining ejected discs. In a first aspect of the invention, the sensor also senses the stoppers of the drives, and a drive without a stopper is not used. In a second aspect of the invention, the control unit uses the sensor to acquire and update information giving the positions of the drives, as well as the positions of the discs. In a third aspect of the invention, the sensor is a reflective optical sensor.