CD Case

Abstract

The present invention proposes an optical disc cartridge, the side surface of which includes a first mating surface and a second mating surface connected to each other. When two adjacent optical disc cartridges are mated through their respective first mating surfaces, the two adjacent optical disc cartridges are arranged in an arc shape; when two adjacent optical disc cartridges are mated through their respective second mating surfaces, the two adjacent optical disc cartridges are arranged in a straight line. The optical disc cartridge according to the present invention can be used in both an optical disc library of a rotating cage structure and an optical disc library of a parallel optical disc structure, so that the optical disc cartridges of the two types of machines are universal, thereby realizing the offline sharing of optical discs and data storage of optical disc libraries of the two structures on different machines.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of storage devices, and in particular to an optical disc cartridge. Background Art

[0002] With the advent of the big data era, optical disk libraries have become the best choice for low-power, green, safe and long-term storage of big data.

[0003] The mainstream optical disk library structure in the market is the rotating cage type, which has a compact structure and high storage density. It can store more optical disks and is often used in optical disk libraries for storing PB-level massive data. The common rotating cage structure optical disk library in the market is generally composed of an integral circular rotating cage, and the optical disk cartridge and the rotating cage are integrated. The optical disk cartridge cannot realize offline storage and cannot realize the sharing of optical disk cartridges on different machines. The common parallel structure optical disk library in the market is generally composed of multiple square optical disk cartridges stacked together, which can only be used in parallel optical disk libraries and has low storage density. Summary of the invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is how to improve the adaptability and convenience of an optical disc cartridge. The present invention provides an optical disc cartridge.

[0005] According to the optical disc cartridge of an embodiment of the present invention, the side surface of the optical disc cartridge includes a first mating surface and a second mating surface that are connected. When two adjacent optical disc cartridges are mated through their respective first mating surfaces, the two adjacent optical disc cartridges are arranged in an arc shape; when two adjacent optical disc cartridges are mated through their respective second mating surfaces, the two adjacent optical disc cartridges are arranged in a straight line.

[0006] The optical disc cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention can be used in both optical disc libraries of a rotating cage type structure and optical disc libraries of a parallel type structure, thereby achieving common use of optical disc cartridges of both types of machines, thereby realizing off-line sharing of optical discs and data storage in optical disc libraries of both structures.

[0007] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the optical disc cartridge is an axisymmetric structure, and has two symmetrically distributed first mating surfaces and two symmetrically distributed second mating surfaces.

[0008] In some embodiments of the present invention, an inner side surface is connected between the two first matching surfaces, and the inner side surface is provided with a positioning groove matched with the positioning gear on the frame.

[0009] According to some embodiments of the present invention, when two adjacent optical disc cartridges cooperate with each other through their respective first mating surfaces to form an arc-shaped arrangement, a notch portion is defined between the second mating surfaces of the two optical disc cartridges.

[0010] In some embodiments of the present invention, two adjacent optical disc cartridges are fixedly connected by a limiting block located in the notch portion and a fixing spring buckle cooperating with the two adjacent optical disc cartridges.

[0011] According to some embodiments of the present invention, each of the optical disc cartridges includes a plurality of optical disc boxes that are stacked, and each of the optical disc boxes is used to hold a plurality of optical discs.

[0012] In some embodiments of the present invention, the shell of the optical disc cartridge defines a receiving cavity, and a plurality of the optical disc boxes are stacked in the receiving cavity.

[0013] According to some embodiments of the present invention, a partition is provided between two adjacent layers of the optical disc cases.

[0014] In some embodiments of the present invention, a guide rail is provided on the inner wall of the accommodating cavity or the layer partition, and the optical disc box can be pulled out of or pushed into the accommodating cavity through the guide rail.

[0015] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the optical disc case is provided with a protruding clamping portion. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an optical disc cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 2 A partial structural cross-sectional view of an optical disc cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 3 is a bottom view of an optical disc cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a circular arrangement of optical disc cartridges according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a linear arrangement of optical disc cartridges according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an optical disc library according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 7 FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a local structure of an optical disk library according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Reference numerals

[0024] CD library 100,

[0025] Frame 10, base 101, top plate 102, central shaft 110, positioning gear ring 111, partition 120, support column 130, limit block 131, fixing spring buckle 140,

[0026] The optical disc cartridge 20, the optical disc case 201, the layer partition 202, the guide rail 203, the clamping portion 204, the first mating surface 210, the second mating surface 220, the inner side surface 230, the positioning groove 231, the notch portion 240,

[0027] Optical drive array group 30,

[0028] Driving assembly 40, motor 410, driving gear 420,

[0029] The disk-taking robot 50 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] In order to further explain the technical means and effects adopted by the present invention to achieve the predetermined purpose, the present invention is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments.

[0031] The description of the method flow in the specification of the present invention and the steps of the flowchart in the drawings of the specification of the present invention do not have to be strictly executed according to the step numbers, and the method steps can be executed in a different order. Moreover, some steps can be omitted, multiple steps can be combined into one step, and / or one step can be decomposed into multiple steps.

[0032] The first part of the present invention introduces an optical disc cartridge 20 for an optical disc library according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] like Figure 1 As shown, according to the optical disc cartridge 20 of the embodiment of the present invention, the side surface of the optical disc cartridge 20 includes a first mating surface 210 and a second mating surface 220 connected to each other. Figure 4 As shown, when two adjacent optical disc cartridges 20 are mated through their respective first mating surfaces 210, the two adjacent optical disc cartridges 20 are arranged in an arc shape; Figure 5 As shown, when two adjacent optical disc cartridges 20 are mated via their respective second mating surfaces 220 , the two adjacent optical disc cartridges 20 are arranged in a straight line.

[0034] According to the optical disc cartridge 20 of the embodiment of the present invention, the optical disc cartridge 20 can be arranged in a circle or in a straight line in parallel according to the requirements of the optical disc library 100, so that it can be applicable to the rotating cage optical disc library 100 and the parallel optical disc library 100. Moreover, the optical disc cartridge 20 is an independent detachable module, which can be easily assembled and disassembled from the optical disc library 100, so that offline storage separated from the optical disc library 100 can be realized, and the optical disc cartridge 20 can be easily transferred from one optical disc library to another optical disc library, so as to realize the effect of sharing the optical disc cartridge between different machines.

[0035] According to some embodiments of the present invention, Figure 3As shown, the optical disc cartridge 20 is an axisymmetric structure, and the optical disc cartridge 20 has two symmetrically distributed first mating surfaces 210 and two symmetrically distributed second mating surfaces 220. Therefore, the processing and preparation of the optical disc cartridge 20 is facilitated, and the production cost of the optical disc cartridge 20 is reduced. Moreover, the fixed assembly of two adjacent optical disc cartridges 20 is facilitated.

[0036] In some embodiments of the present invention, Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, the inner side surface 230 is connected between the two first mating surfaces 210, the cross section of the optical disc cartridge 20 is fan-shaped, and the angle between the two first mating surfaces 210 can be designed to be 36°. Thus, 10 optical disc cartridges 20 can be arranged in a circle, and the arrangement effect is as follows: Figure 4 It should be noted that the included angle between the two first matching surfaces 210 of the optical disc cartridge 20 can be adjusted and set accordingly according to the number of optical disc cartridges 20 to be arranged.

[0037] Combination Figure 3 and Figure 7 As shown, the inner side surface 230 is provided with a positioning groove 231 adapted to the positioning toothed ring 111 on the frame 10. Thus, the optical disc cartridge 20 can be positioned and fixed by the cooperation between the positioning toothed ring 111 and the positioning groove 231. Moreover, when the central rotating shaft 110 on the frame 10 rotates, the optical disc cartridge 20 can be driven to rotate by the positioning toothed ring 111, so that the optical disc in the optical disc cartridge 20 can be taken out and placed.

[0038] According to some embodiments of the present invention, Figure 4 As shown, when two adjacent optical disc cartridges 20 are arranged in an arc shape by cooperating with their respective first mating surfaces 210, a notch portion 240 is defined between the second mating surfaces 220 of the two optical disc cartridges 20. It should be noted that the first mating surface 210 and the second mating surface 220 are not parallel and overlapping planes, and when two adjacent optical disc cartridges 20 are arranged in an arc shape by cooperating with their respective first mating surfaces 210, a notch portion 240 is defined between the second mating surfaces 220 on the same side of the two optical disc cartridges 20.

[0039] Combination Figure 7 As shown, the frame 10 is provided with a plurality of support columns 130, and one support column 130 is provided between any two adjacent optical disc cartridges 20, and the support columns 130 are located at the corresponding notches 240. The support columns 130 are provided with stop blocks 131 adapted to the notches 240. Thus, the positioning and arrangement of the optical disc cartridges 20 are facilitated, and the assembly between adjacent optical disc cartridges 20 is facilitated.

[0040] In some embodiments of the present invention, Figure 7As shown, two adjacent optical disc cartridges 20 are fixedly connected by the stopper 131 located in the notch 240 and the fixing spring buckle 140 matched with the two adjacent optical disc cartridges 20. Thus, the firmness and convenience of fixing between the optical disc cartridges 20 and between the optical disc cartridges 20 and the frame 10 can be improved.

[0041] According to some embodiments of the present invention, Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, each optical disc box 20 includes a plurality of optical disc boxes 201 stacked in layers, and each optical disc box 201 is used to hold a plurality of optical discs. For example, each optical disc box 20 can be stacked with 10 layers of optical disc boxes 201, and each optical disc box 201 can hold 10-100 optical discs. It is understandable that the above optical disc boxes 201 and the number of optical discs held by each optical disc box 201 are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the solution of the present invention. In actual production, the corresponding number of optical disc boxes 201 and the number of optical discs held by the optical disc boxes 201 can be designed and processed according to actual needs.

[0042] In some embodiments of the present invention, the housing of the optical disc cartridge 20 defines a receiving cavity, and a plurality of optical disc boxes 201 are stacked and arranged in the receiving cavity. In other words, the optical disc cartridge 20 has a housing defining a receiving cavity, and the housing can provide good protection for the optical disc boxes 201 and the optical discs in the optical disc boxes 201.

[0043] like Figure 2 As shown, according to some embodiments of the present invention, Figure 2 As shown, a partition plate 202 is provided between two adjacent layers of optical disc boxes 201. Thus, each optical disc box 201 can have an independent space, thereby improving the protection effect of the optical disc and facilitating the storage and management of the optical disc.

[0044] In some embodiments of the present invention, Figure 2 As shown, the inner wall of the accommodating cavity or the partition plate 202 of the accommodating cavity is provided with a guide rail 203, and the optical disc box 201 can be pulled out or pushed into the accommodating cavity through the guide rail 203. That is to say, the guide rail 203 can be provided on the inner wall of the accommodating cavity, for example, the guide rail 203 can be provided on the inner side wall of the accommodating cavity; the guide rail 203 can also be provided on the partition plate 202 of each layer. Thus, it is convenient to pull out and push each optical disc box 201 into the accommodating cavity, so as to facilitate the taking and placing of the optical disc.

[0045] According to some embodiments of the present invention, Figure 1-Figure 3 As shown, the optical disc box 201 is provided with a protruding clamping portion 204. Thus, the optical disc box 201 can be pulled out of or pushed into the accommodating cavity through the clamping portion 204. For example, the optical disc box 201 can be automatically pulled out or pushed into the accommodating cavity by the disc taking robot 50 on the frame 10 cooperating with the clamping portion 204, or can be manually pulled out or pushed into the accommodating cavity through the clamping portion 204.

[0046] The second part of the invention introduces the optical disc library 100 according to the invention.

[0047] like Figure 6 As shown, the optical disk library 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes: a rack 10 , a plurality of optical disk cartridges 20 , and an optical drive array group 30 .

[0048] The frame 10 is provided with a central rotating shaft 110;

[0049] The optical disc cartridge 20 is the optical disc cartridge 20 described above, each optical disc cartridge 20 is detachably mounted on the frame 10, and multiple optical disc cartridges 20 are arranged in a circle with the central shaft 110 as the central axis; the optical drive array group 30 is disposed on the frame 10, and is used to connect an electronic device to read and write optical discs. The electronic device may be a computer or other electronic device that can read and write optical discs.

[0050] According to the optical disc library 100 of the embodiment of the present invention, the optical disc cartridge 20 adopts an independent detachable module, which can be conveniently and efficiently disassembled and assembled with the optical disc library 100, thereby realizing offline storage in which the optical disc cartridge 20 is separated from the optical disc library 100. The optical disc cartridge 20 can also be conveniently transferred from one optical disc library 100 to another optical disc library 100, thereby realizing the effect of sharing the optical disc cartridge 20 among different machines.

[0051] According to some embodiments of the present invention, Figure 6 As shown, the optical disk library 100 further includes a drive assembly 40, which is connected to the central shaft 110 to drive the central shaft 110 to rotate the plurality of optical disk cartridges 20. Figure 6 As shown, the driving assembly 40 may include a motor 410 and a driving gear 420, wherein the driving gear 420 is connected to the driving shaft of the motor 410 and is connected to the central shaft 110. When the motor 410 is running, the driving gear 420 may be driven to rotate, thereby driving each optical disc cartridge 20 to rotate through the central shaft 110, so as to facilitate the taking and placing of optical discs.

[0052] In some embodiments of the present invention, Figure 6 As shown, the optical disc library 100 also includes: a disc retrieval robot 50, which is movably disposed on the frame 10, and is used to take out an optical disc from the optical disc cartridge 20 and place it in the optical drive array group 30, or to take out an optical disc from the optical drive array group 30 and place it in the optical disc cartridge 20.

[0053] It should be noted that the disc retrieval robot 50 can be mechanically moved in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction. When it is necessary to retrieve and place a disc from the disc tray 20, the disc tray 20 can be rotated to a corresponding position by the drive assembly 40, and the position of the disc retrieval robot 50 can be adjusted. The disc box 201 on the disc tray 20 can be opened by the disc retrieval robot 50, and the disc can be retrieved and placed by the disc retrieval robot 50.

[0054] According to some embodiments of the present invention, Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, a plurality of positioning toothed rings 111 are arranged at intervals on the central rotating shaft 110, and each optical disc cartridge 20 is provided with a positioning groove 231 adapted to the positioning toothed ring 111. Thus, the optical disc cartridge 20 can be positioned and assembled by the cooperation between the limiting toothed ring and the positioning groove 231, and when the driving assembly 40 drives the central rotating shaft 110 to rotate, the cooperation between the positioning toothed ring 111 and the positioning groove 231 can drive the optical disc cartridge 20 to rotate.

[0055] In some embodiments of the present invention, Figure 6 As shown, a plurality of partitions 120 are provided at intervals along the axial direction of the central shaft 110. One or more layers of optical disc cartridges 20 can be placed on each partition 120. By providing the partitions 120, the convenience and firmness of the optical disc cartridges 20 can be improved.

[0056] According to some embodiments of the present invention, Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, the frame 10 is provided with a plurality of support columns 130, and the plurality of support columns 130 are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction of the central rotating shaft 110. In some embodiments of the present invention, a stop block 131 is provided on the support column 130, and two adjacent optical disc cartridges 20 along the circumferential direction of the central rotating shaft 110 clamp the stop block 131 and are fixed by a fixing spring buckle 140. Thus, the fixing and assembly of the optical disc cartridge 20 is facilitated, and the firmness of the fixing of the optical disc cartridge 20 can be improved.

[0057] The optical disc cartridge 20 and the optical disc library 100 according to the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings in a specific embodiment. It is worth noting that the following description is only an exemplary description and should not be construed as a specific limitation on the present invention.

[0058] like Figure 6 As shown, the optical disk library 100 includes: a frame 10 , an optical disk cartridge 20 , an optical drive array group 30 , an optical disk removal robot 50 and a drive assembly 40 .

[0059] The frame 10 includes a base 101 and a top plate 102. A central shaft 110 is disposed between the base 101 and the top plate 102. A plurality of support columns 130 are disposed at intervals along the circumferential direction of the central shaft 110. A plurality of partition plates 120 and positioning gear rings 111 are disposed at intervals along the axial direction of the central shaft 110.

[0060] The driving assembly 40 includes a motor 410 and a driving gear 420. The entire rotating cage is composed of a plurality of offline optical disc cartridges 20 arranged in a circular array around a central rotating shaft 110 to form a high-density three-dimensional optical disc library 100 that can store multiple optical discs.

[0061] The motor 410 drives the driving gear 420 to rotate, and the target offline optical disc cartridge 20 can be flexibly and quickly transferred to the front of the disk-removing robot 50. The disk-removing robot 50 can move along the X-axis and the Z-axis, and can conveniently take out any optical disc in the optical disc cartridge 20, and then put the optical disc into the optical drive array group 30 to read and write data. The disk-removing robot 50 can also conveniently and flexibly put the optical disc from the optical drive array group 30 into the optical disc box 201 in any optical disc cartridge 20 of the optical disc library 100.

[0062] like Figure 7 As shown, when assembling the optical disc cartridge 20, the optical disc cartridge 20 is inserted flatly into the frame 10 along the edge of the limit block 131, and is positioned at a fixed angle by means of the positioning gear ring 111 installed on the central shaft 110, and then two adjacent optical disc cartridges 20 can be fixed by means of the fixing spring buckle 140.

[0063] The optical disc cartridge 20 can be formed by hardware processing, sheet metal stamping and plastic parts, or can be formed by integral plastic mold injection molding. Figure 1-Figure 3 As shown, the cross-sectional view of the optical disc tray 20 is roughly fan-shaped. The optical disc tray 20 includes a shell, and the shell line defines a receiving cavity. Ten optical disc boxes 201 are stacked in the receiving cavity, and a guide rail 203 is provided on the inner wall of the receiving cavity. The optical disc boxes 201 and the guide rail 203 are both injection molded parts.

[0064] The total height H of the optical disc case 20 is 236.3 mm, the highest is no more than 236.7 mm, the width W is 148 mm, and the length L is 238.5 mm. When assembling the optical disc case 20, it is necessary to check whether the optical disc box 401 and the guide rail 203 cooperate smoothly, whether the layer partition 202 meets the flatness requirements, and warped products must not be placed in the accommodating cavity. When screws are required for assembly, they must be tightened symmetrically and evenly.

[0065] like Figure 4 As shown, a plurality of optical disc cartridges 20 can be closely arranged to form a circle, and the multi-layer optical disc cartridges 20 can form a rotating cage structure. Figure 5 As shown, a plurality of optical disc cartridges 20 may also form a parallel structure.

[0066] In summary, the optical disc cartridge 20 of the present invention can be used in both optical disc libraries with a rotating cage structure and optical disc libraries with a parallel optical disc structure, thereby achieving the commonality of optical disc cartridges of both types of machines, thereby realizing the off-line sharing of optical discs and data storage in optical disc libraries with both structures.

[0067] Through the description of the specific implementation methods, a deeper and more specific understanding of the technical means and effects adopted by the present invention to achieve the predetermined purpose should be obtained. However, the accompanying drawings are only for reference and illustration purposes and are not intended to limit the present invention.

Claims

1. An optical disc cartridge, characterized in that: The side surface of the optical disc cartridge comprises a first mating surface and a second mating surface connected to each other. When two adjacent optical disc cartridges are mated through their respective first mating surfaces, the two adjacent optical disc cartridges are arranged in an arc shape; when two adjacent optical disc cartridges are mated through their respective second mating surfaces, the two adjacent optical disc cartridges are arranged in a straight line. The optical disc case is an axisymmetric structure, and has two symmetrically distributed first mating surfaces and two symmetrically distributed second mating surfaces; An inner side surface is connected between the two first matching surfaces, and the inner side surface is provided with a positioning groove matched with the positioning toothed ring on the frame.

2. The optical disc cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: When two adjacent optical disc cartridges cooperate with each other through their respective first matching surfaces to form an arc-shaped arrangement, a notch portion is defined between the second matching surfaces of the two optical disc cartridges.

3. The optical disc cartridge according to claim 2, wherein: Two adjacent optical disc cartridges are fixedly connected by a limiting block located in the notch portion and a fixing spring buckle matched with the two adjacent optical disc cartridges.

4. The optical disc cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: Each of the optical disc cartridges comprises a plurality of optical disc boxes which are stacked one on top of the other, and each of the optical disc boxes is used for containing a plurality of optical discs.

5. The optical disc cartridge according to claim 4, wherein: The shell of the optical disc cartridge defines a receiving cavity, and a plurality of optical disc boxes are stacked and arranged in the receiving cavity.

6. The optical disc cartridge according to claim 5, wherein: A partition is provided between two adjacent layers of the optical disc boxes.

7. The optical disc cartridge according to claim 6, wherein: A guide rail is provided on the inner wall of the accommodating cavity or the partition plate, and the optical disc box can be pulled out of or pushed into the accommodating cavity through the guide rail.

8. The optical disc cartridge according to claim 4, wherein: The optical disc box is provided with a protruding clamping portion.

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