Disk grabber and optical disk juke-box

Abstract

The invention provides a disc grabber and an optical disc jukebox. The disc grabber comprises a grabbing structure used for grabbing or unloading an optical disc, and the grabbing structure comprises at least two grabbing parts which are arranged in a spaced mode. Each grasping part is provided with at least one clamping jaw, and each grasping part is arranged to be capable of extending into the center hole of the optical disc and capable of rotating, so that the clamping jaw rotates to be clamped at the edge of the center hole of the optical disc; and the at least two grasping parts are arranged to be capable of grasping the optical disc when the corresponding clamping claws are clamped at the edge of the central hole of the optical disc. The disc grabbing device can be suitable for the scene that the center hole of the optical disc is not blocked or obstructed, and can also be suitable for the scene that the center hole of the optical disc is blocked or obstructed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of data storage, and in particular to a disk grabber and an optical disk library. Background Art

[0002] The disc grabber is used to grab the optical disc. In the prior art, the disc grabber includes a guide post with a retractable expansion part on the guide post. The diameter of the guide post is slightly smaller than the diameter of the center hole of the optical disc so as to be able to penetrate the center hole of the optical disc. When the optical disc needs to be grabbed, the guide post extends into the center hole of the optical disc, and then the expansion part expands the edge of the center hole of the optical disc, thereby grabbing the optical disc. Summary of the invention

[0003] The inventor of the present application discovered that the guide posts of the existing disc grabbers are all matched with the center hole of the optical disc, and the guide posts can only be used when the center hole area of ​​the optical disc is not blocked. Otherwise, they are not applicable.

[0004] In addition, when transporting optical discs, they are usually stored in a disc magazine, and multiple optical discs can be stored in one disc magazine. Due to the bumps during transportation, the surface of the optical disc may be worn, thereby damaging the optical disc. In order to solve this problem, in the prior art, a hole is opened in the outer shell of the optical disc magazine, and the hole is connected to the center hole of the optical disc, and then a fixing rod is inserted therein, so that the fixing rod passes through the center hole of the optical disc to prevent the optical disc from shaking. Therefore, those skilled in the art have formed a fixed idea, that is, the center part of the optical disc magazine is hollow, the center hole of the optical disc is hollow, and the guide column of the disc grabber needs to pass through the center hole of the optical disc to grab the optical disc.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a new disc grabber, which is not only applicable to the scene where the central hole area of ​​the optical disc is not blocked, but also applicable to the scene where the central hole area of ​​the optical disc is blocked.

[0006] A further object of the present invention is to enable the grabber to grab a specified number of optical discs while being able to unload a single optical disc.

[0007] In particular, the present invention provides a disc gripper, comprising a gripping structure for gripping or unloading an optical disc, the gripping structure comprising at least two gripping portions arranged at a distance from each other;

[0008] Each of the gripping parts has at least one claw, and each of the gripping parts is configured to be able to extend into the central hole of the optical disc and to be rotatable so that the claw is rotated to be clamped on the edge of the central hole of the optical disc;

[0009] At least two of the gripping parts are configured to grip the optical disc when their corresponding claws are engaged with the edge of the central hole of the optical disc.

[0010] Optionally, the gripping portion is configured to be columnar and extends along the direction in which the optical discs are stacked, and two claws are arranged in the extending direction of the gripping portion;

[0011] Each of the claws is configured to hold the optical disc above it when clamped on the edge of the center hole of the optical disc, the distance between the two claws is the thickness of an optical disc, and the projections of the two claws in the direction of the disc surface are staggered and partially overlapped;

[0012] Optionally, the gripping portion is arranged so that when extending into the central hole of the optical disc, all claws face the center of the optical disc.

[0013] Optionally, a guide slope is provided on one side of the lower end of the gripping portion, and the guide slope is configured to make the width of the lower end of the gripping portion gradually narrow from top to bottom.

[0014] Optionally, the disc grabber further comprises a driving mechanism, wherein the driving mechanism comprises a driving motor and a gear assembly driven by the driving motor, wherein the gear assembly is disposed on the top of the gripping portion and is used to drive the gripping portion to rotate.

[0015] Optionally, the gear assembly comprises:

[0016] A driving gear connected to the driving motor;

[0017] At least two driven gears, respectively corresponding to at least two of the gripping parts and connected to the driving gears, each driven gear correspondingly drives one gripping part to rotate;

[0018] Optionally, the driving gear drives all the driven gears to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise at the same time, thereby driving all the gripping parts to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise synchronously.

[0019] Optionally, the plate grabber further comprises:

[0020] The optical disc quantity detector is used for detecting the quantity of the optical discs located above the claws when the gripping portion extends into the center hole of the optical disc.

[0021] In particular, the present invention also provides an optical disk library, comprising the above-mentioned disk grabber.

[0022] Optionally, the optical disk library further comprises an optical disk cartridge, the optical disk cartridge comprising an outer shell, an inner cartridge arranged in the outer shell and capable of being moved out of the outer shell, the inner cartridge comprising:

[0023] The optical disc accommodating portion is used to accommodate a plurality of stacked optical discs;

[0024] A limiting member is arranged at the center of the optical disc accommodating portion, the limiting member extends in a vertical direction perpendicular to the disc surface direction of the optical disc, and is configured to penetrate the center holes of the multiple optical discs to limit the shaking of the multiple optical discs in the disc surface direction, and allow the multiple optical discs to be displaced in the vertical direction;

[0025] Optionally, the limiting member is configured to be columnar, and the cross section of the limiting member in the direction of the disk surface is circular;

[0026] Any circular cross section of the limiting member has at least two notches, and the positions of the notches on the same vertical line are kept consistent, so as to form a through hole on the limiting member;

[0027] Optionally, the at least two notches of the limiting member are evenly distributed on the circular cross-section.

[0028] In particular, the present invention also provides a control method for the above-mentioned disk grabber, comprising the following steps:

[0029] The claw of the disc grabber moves toward the center of the disc into the center hole of the stacked discs until it reaches the target disc;

[0030] Driving all the gripping parts of the gripper to rotate synchronously in a first rotation direction until the claws of all the gripping parts are clamped on the edge of the center hole of the target optical disc;

[0031] The disc grabber is controlled to move upward and hold up the target optical disc and all the optical discs above the target optical disc.

[0032] Optionally, the control method further comprises the following steps:

[0033] After receiving the instruction to unload the target optical disc, all the gripping parts are driven to continue to rotate synchronously in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction until the lower claws of all the gripping parts are disengaged and the upper claws are not disengaged, thereby unloading the target optical disc;

[0034] Optionally, the control method further comprises the following steps:

[0035] When receiving a request to continue unloading the bottom optical disc on the current disc grabber after unloading the target optical disc, all the claws are controlled to rotate simultaneously in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction until all the claws are facing the edge of the center hole of the optical disc;

[0036] Controlling all the claws to continue to rotate in the second rotation direction simultaneously until all the upper claws are disengaged from the edge of the center hole of the optical disc and all the lower claws are not disengaged from the edge of the center hole of the optical disc, so that all the optical discs are lowered by the height of one optical disc and are supported by all the lower claws;

[0037] Controlling all the claws to rotate toward the first rotation direction at the same time until all the claws are facing the edge of the center hole of the optical disc;

[0038] Controlling all the claws to continue rotating in the first rotation direction, and stopping the rotation when all the lower claws are separated from the edge of the center hole of the optical disc and all the upper claws are not separated from the edge of the center hole of the optical disc, so as to unload the bottom optical disc;

[0039] Optionally, the control method further comprises the following steps:

[0040] When all other optical discs are unloaded after the target optical disc is unloaded, all the claws rotate toward the first direction at the same time until all the claws return to the initial state.

[0041] According to the solution of the present invention, the gripping structure includes at least two gripping parts arranged at intervals, each gripping part has at least one claw, and the gripping part can be extended into the center hole of the optical disc. It can be understood that the diameter of each gripping part is much smaller than the diameter of the center hole of the optical disc. When the gripping part extends into the center hole of the optical disc, even if there is an obstruction or obstacle at the center hole of the optical disc, it can be avoided. When it is necessary to grab the optical disc, all the claws of all the gripping parts rotate to be stuck at the edge of the center hole of the optical disc, so as to work together to grab the optical disc. Therefore, the disc grabber can be used not only in the scene where there is no obstruction or obstacle at the center hole of the optical disc, but also in the scene where there is an obstruction or obstacle at the center hole of the optical disc.

[0042] Furthermore, the two claws of each gripping portion are arranged along the extension direction of the gripping portion, and the spacing between the two claws is the thickness of a CD, so that a CD can be clamped between the two claws, and the projections of the two claws in the direction of the CD surface are staggered and partially overlapped, so that when the gripping portion is rotated to a certain angle, the bottom CD among all the CDs gripped by the gripping portion can be unloaded while supporting other CDs.

[0043] Based on the following detailed description of specific embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will become more aware of the above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] Hereinafter, some specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail in an exemplary and non-limiting manner with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals in the accompanying drawings indicate the same or similar components or parts. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the accompanying drawings:

[0045] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a disk grabber according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0046] Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of a disc grabber grabbing an optical disc according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0047] Figure 3 Shows Figure 2 A schematic enlarged view is shown;

[0048] Figure 4 Shows Figure 2 A schematic cross-sectional view of a portion of the structure shown;

[0049] Figure 5 Shows Figure 4 A schematic enlarged view of point B is shown;

[0050] Figure 6 A schematic structural diagram showing a partial structure of a gripping portion according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0051] Figure 7 Another schematic structural diagram showing a partial structure of a gripping portion according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0052] Figure 8 A schematic cross-sectional view showing a partial structure of a gripping portion gripping an optical disc according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the gripping portion is in an initial state;

[0053] Fig. 9 A schematic structural diagram of a disc grabber grabbing an optical disc according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0054] Fig.10 A schematic top view showing a partial structure of a plate grabber according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0055] Fig.11 A schematic perspective view showing an optical disc cartridge with an inner cartridge located within an outer shell according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0056] Fig.12 A schematic perspective view of an inner box according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0057] Fig.13 shows a schematic top view of an inner box according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0058] Fig.14 A schematic flow chart of a method for controlling a disk grabber according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0059] In the figure: 1-gripping structure, 11-gripping part, 111-claw, 112-guide slope, 21-driving motor, 22-driving gear, 23-driven gear, 3-detection code strip, 4-optical disc, 5-optical disc box, 51-outer shell, 52-inner box, 521-optical disc accommodating part, 522-limiting member, 5221-notch, 5222-through hole, 523-through opening. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] The following describes the implementation methods of the present application through specific examples, and those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present application from the contents disclosed in this specification. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. The present application can also be implemented or applied through other different specific implementation methods, and the details in this specification can also be modified or changed in various ways based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present application. It should be noted that, in the absence of conflict, the following embodiments and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in the field without making creative work belong to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0061] It should also be noted that the illustrations provided in the following embodiments are only schematic illustrations of the basic concept of the present application. The drawings only show the structures related to the present application rather than being drawn according to the number, shape and size of the structures in actual implementation. In actual implementation, the type, quantity and proportion of each structure may be changed arbitrarily, and its structural layout may also be more complicated.

[0062] Additionally, in the following description, specific details are provided to facilitate a thorough understanding of the examples. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the aspects described may be practiced without these specific details.

[0063] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a disk grabber according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of a disc grabber grabbing an optical disc according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Figure 3 Shows Figure 2 A schematic enlarged diagram is shown. Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the grabber includes a gripping structure 1 for gripping or unloading an optical disc 4. The gripping structure 1 includes at least two gripping portions 11 arranged at intervals. Each gripping portion 11 has at least one claw 111, and each gripping portion 11 is configured to be able to extend into the center hole of the optical disc 4 and to be rotatable so that the claw 111 is rotated to be caught at the edge of the center hole of the optical disc 4. At least two gripping portions 11 are configured to grip the optical disc 4 when their corresponding claws 111 are caught at the edge of the center hole of the optical disc 4.

[0064] According to the solution of the present invention, the gripping structure 1 includes at least two gripping parts 11 arranged at intervals, each gripping part 11 has at least one claw 111, and the gripping part 11 can be extended into the center hole of the optical disc 4. It can be understood that the diameter of each gripping part 11 is much smaller than the diameter of the center hole of the optical disc 4. When the gripping part 11 extends into the center hole of the optical disc 4, even if there is an obstruction or obstacle at the center hole of the optical disc 4, it can be avoided. When it is necessary to grab the optical disc 4, all the claws 111 of all the gripping parts 11 are rotated to be stuck at the edge of the center hole of the optical disc 4, so as to work together to grab the optical disc 4. Therefore, the disc grabber can be used not only in the scene where there is no obstruction or obstacle at the center hole of the optical disc 4, but also in the scene where there is an obstruction or obstacle at the center hole of the optical disc 4.

[0065] In one embodiment, a plurality of gripping portions 11 are evenly arranged around the central hole of the optical disc 4. When the optical disc grabber is applied to an existing optical disc cartridge 5, the structural shape of the gripping portion 11 is not limited and can be designed as required. When the optical disc grabber is applied to the optical disc cartridge 5 of the present invention, the structural shape of the gripping portion 11 needs to be designed in coordination with the optical disc cartridge 5. The optical disc cartridge 5 of the present invention is described in detail later.

[0066] Figure 4 Shows Figure 2 Schematic cross-sectional view of part of the structure shown. Figure 5 Shows Figure 4 A schematic enlarged view of point B is shown. Figure 6 A schematic structural diagram showing a partial structure of a gripping portion 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 FIG. 2 shows another schematic structural diagram of a part of the structure of the gripping portion 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figures 1 to 7 As shown, the gripping portion 11 is configured to be columnar and extends in the direction in which the optical discs 4 are stacked, and two claws 111 are sequentially arranged in the extending direction of the gripping portion 11. Each claw 111 is configured to hold the optical disc 4 located above it when it is clamped on the edge of the center hole of the optical disc 4, and the spacing between the two claws 111 is the thickness of an optical disc 4, thereby enabling an optical disc 4 to be clamped between the two claws 111. Moreover, the projections of the two claws 111 in the direction of the disc surface of the optical disc 4 are staggered and partially overlapped, thereby enabling the gripping portion 11 to unload the bottom optical disc 4 of all the optical discs 4 gripped by the gripping portion 11 when it rotates a certain angle, while holding the other optical discs 4. That is, when one claw 111 of the gripping portion 11 is separated from the edge of the center hole of the target optical disc, the other claw 111 of the gripping portion 11 has not yet been separated from the edge of the center hole of the previous optical disc 4 of the target optical disc, thereby achieving the purpose of unloading the target optical disc and holding the other optical discs 4 at the same time. In one embodiment, the claw 111 is configured to be circular petal-shaped.

[0067] Figure 8 FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a partial structure of a gripping portion 11 gripping an optical disc 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the gripping portion 11 is in an initial state. Figure 1 and Figure 8 As shown, in the initial state, that is, when the gripper needs to grab the optical disc 4 in the optical disc case 5 and the gripper 11 extends downward into the center hole of the multiple optical discs 4, all the claws 111 of the gripper 11 are directed toward the center of the optical disc 4 when the gripper 11 extends into the center hole of the optical disc 4. In other words, the gripper 11 remains in the initial state when it extends into the center hole of the optical disc 4, and when it needs to be moved out of the center hole, it also needs to be restored to the initial state and then moved out of the center hole. In this way, it can be avoided that the claws 111 of the gripper 11 hinder its downward displacement.

[0068] See also Figures 2 to 5 , the gripping portion 11 is in a gripping state. In the gripping state, the gripping portion 11 rotates until the claws 111 face the edge of the center hole of the optical disc 4, so that the optical disc 4 can be gripped.

[0069] In one embodiment, a guide slope 112 is provided on one side of the lower end of the gripping portion 11, and the guide slope 112 is configured to gradually narrow the width of the lower end of the gripping portion 11 from top to bottom. By providing the guide slope 112, the gripper can be more smoothly extended into and out of the center hole of the optical disk 4.

[0070] The working process of the disk grabber is as follows: after receiving the instruction to grab the optical disk 4, the gripping part 11 of the disk grabber moves in the direction close to the center hole of the optical disk 4 in the initial state until it moves to the center hole that passes through the optical disk 4, and then the gripping structure 1 is rotated to make the gripping part 11 rotate to the gripping state, that is, the gripping part 11 rotates synchronously in the first rotation direction until the claws 111 of all the gripping parts 11 are stuck on the edge of the center hole of the target optical disk, thereby gripping the optical disk 4, and then the disk grabber is controlled to move upward and lift up the target optical disk and all optical disks 4 above the target optical disk.

[0071] The process of placing the disc by the disc grabber can be divided into multiple situations, and the following three situations are used as examples for explanation. The first situation is to place only the bottom disc 4, the second situation is to place another disc 4 after placing the bottom disc 4, and the third situation is to place all discs 4 after placing the bottom disc 4.

[0072] In the first case, all the gripping parts 11 continue to rotate synchronously in the first rotation direction until the lower claws 111 of all the gripping parts 11 are disengaged while the upper claws 111 are not disengaged, thereby unloading the bottom optical disc 4.

[0073] In the second case, all the gripping parts 11 rotate in a second direction opposite to the first direction at the same time until all the claws 111 are facing the edge of the center hole of the optical disc 4, and all the claws 111 continue to rotate in the second rotation direction at the same time until all the upper claws 111 are disengaged from the edge of the center hole of the optical disc 4 and all the lower claws 111 are not disengaged from the edge of the center hole of the optical disc 4, thereby causing all the optical discs 4 to drop by the height of one optical disc 4 and be supported by all the lower claws 111, and then all the claws 111 rotate in the first rotation direction at the same time until all the claws 111 are facing the edge of the center hole of the optical disc 4, and finally, all the claws 111 continue to rotate in the first rotation direction and stop rotating when all the lower claws 111 are disengaged from the edge of the center hole of the optical disc 4 and all the upper claws 111 are not disengaged from the edge of the center hole of the optical disc 4, thereby unloading the bottom optical disc 4.

[0074] In the third case, when all the optical discs 4 need to be put down after the bottom optical disc 4 is put down, all the claws 111 rotate toward the first direction at the same time until all the claws 111 return to the initial state.

[0075] Therefore, the scheme of the present invention can realize the placement of discs in various situations without using a complex retractable elastic component of the gripping portion 11 that contracts or pops out. The structure and control method are very simple, and no complex retractable elastic component is used, so it can still be applied when the central hole area is limited. One of the important reasons for achieving such an effect is the setting method of the upper clamping claw 111 and the lower clamping claw 111, that is, the projections of the two clamping claws 111 in the direction of the disc surface of the optical disc 4 are staggered and partially overlapped, and the spacing between the two clamping claws 111 is the thickness of a disc 4. This also completely breaks the ideological shackles in this field, thereby using a brand-new scheme to realize the grabbing and placing operations of single and multiple optical discs 4.

[0076] Fig. 9 A schematic structural diagram of a disk grabber grabbing an optical disk 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Fig.10 FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of a partial structure of a disk grabber according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 9 and Fig.10As shown, the disc grabber also includes a driving mechanism. The driving mechanism includes a driving motor 21 and a gear assembly driven by the driving motor 21. The gear assembly is arranged at the top of the gripping portion 11 and is used to drive the gripping portion 11 to rotate. The gear assembly includes a driving gear 22 and at least two driven gears 23. The driving gear 22 is connected to the driving motor 21. The at least two driven gears 23 correspond to at least two gripping portions 11 respectively and are connected to the driving gear 22. Each driven gear 23 drives one gripping portion 11 to rotate. The driving gear 22 drives all the driven gears 23 to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise at the same time, thereby driving all the gripping portions 11 to rotate synchronously clockwise or counterclockwise.

[0077] exist Fig.10 In the illustrated embodiment, the number of the gripping parts 11 of the gripping structure 1 is four, and the four gripping parts 11 correspond to four driven gears 23. Each driven gear 23 drives the corresponding gripping part 11 to rotate, and the four driven gears 23 are all driven by the same driving gear 22, that is, one driving gear 22 drives four driven gears 23 at the same time, thereby ensuring the synchronization of the rotation of the gripping part 11.

[0078] The optical disc grabber further comprises an optical disc number detector, which is used to detect the number of optical discs 4 located above the claws 111 when the gripping portion 11 extends into the central hole of the optical disc 4. The optical disc number detector can be, for example, a detection code bar 3. Figure 1 and Figure 2 Two detection code strips 3 can be provided, and the two detection code strips 3 are respectively provided on both sides of the gripping structure 1. Moreover, after the gripping portion 11 extends into the central hole of the optical disc 4, the bottom end of the detection code strip 3 is close to the upper surface of the top optical disc 4, but does not contact the upper surface of the top optical disc 4.

[0079] In particular, the present invention also provides an optical disk library, which includes the aforementioned disk grabber. In one embodiment, the optical disk library further includes an optical disk cartridge 5. Fig.11 A schematic perspective view of an optical disc cartridge 5 with an inner cartridge 52 located within an outer cartridge 51 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Fig.12 A schematic perspective view of an inner cassette 52 according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown. Fig.13 FIG. 5 shows a schematic top view of an inner box 52 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figures 11 to 13As shown, the optical disc tray 5 comprises an outer shell 51 and an inner tray 52 disposed in the outer shell 51 and capable of being moved out of the outer shell 51. The inner tray 52 has an optical disc accommodating portion 521 and a limiting member 522. The optical disc accommodating portion 521 is used to accommodate a plurality of stacked optical discs 4. The limiting member 522 is disposed at the center of the optical disc accommodating portion 521, and the limiting member 522 extends in a vertical direction perpendicular to the disc surface direction of the optical disc 4, and is configured to penetrate the center holes of the plurality of optical discs 4 to limit the shaking of the plurality of optical discs 4 in the disc surface direction, and allow the plurality of optical discs 4 to be displaced in the vertical direction.

[0080] According to the solution of the present invention, a limiting member 522 is provided at the center of the optical disc accommodating portion 521, and the limiting member 522 is allowed to penetrate the central hole of the optical disc 4 to limit the shaking of the multiple optical discs 4 in the direction of the disc surface, and allow the multiple optical discs 4 to be displaced in the vertical direction. Therefore, the optical disc 4 will not shake in the direction of the disc surface under the limitation of the limiting member 522, thereby preventing the disc surface of the optical disc 4 from being damaged by friction. In addition, the optical disc 4 can be displaced in the vertical direction of the limiting member 522, so that one or some optical discs 4 can be removed.

[0081] Since the optical disc tray 5 is provided with a limiting member 522 , the optical disc 4 cannot be grabbed from the optical disc tray 5 using the conventional grabber, and the aforementioned grabber in the present application needs to be used for grabbing the optical disc.

[0082] The stopper 522 is configured in a columnar shape and extends in a vertical direction perpendicular to the surface of the optical disc 4. The cross section of the stopper 522 in the direction of the surface of the optical disc is circular, and any circular cross section of the stopper 522 has at least two notches 5221, and the positions of the notches 5221 on the same vertical line are kept consistent, so as to form a through hole 5222 on the stopper 522. The main function of the notch 5221 is to allow the gripping portion 11 of the grabber to extend into the notch 5221, so as to grip the edge of the center hole of the optical disc 4, and then take out one or more optical discs 4. The shape of the notch 5221 matches the gripping portion 11 of the grabber, as long as it allows the gripping portion 11 to pass through and grip the edge of the center hole of the optical disc 4. In addition, the number of the notches 5221 can be, for example, two, three, four or more, which is also related to the number of the gripping parts 11 of the grabber, as long as it can be ensured that the grabber can grasp the edge of the center hole of the optical disc 4 through the multiple gripping parts 11 when passing through the notches 5221, and can smoothly take the optical disc 4 out of the limiting member 522. The at least two notches 5221 are preferably evenly distributed on the circular cross section to ensure smoothness in the process of taking out the optical disc 4.

[0083] In one embodiment, the outer contour line of the notch 5221 is an arc, and the arc outer contour line is bent toward the center of the circular cross section, that is, the opening of the arc outer contour line faces the outside of the circular cross section. The arc outer contour line can be adapted to the gripping portion 11 which is also an arc contour line, with as few corners as possible, so that the gripping portion 11 can enter and exit the notch 5221 more smoothly. At least two through-holes 523 corresponding to the notch 5221 are provided at the bottom of the optical disc accommodating portion 521. The through-holes 523 are connected to the through-hole 5222. In other words, the number of through-holes 523 and the notch 5221 is consistent, and they are located at the bottom of the through-hole 5222. By providing the through-hole 523, the gripping portion 11 of the grabber can pass through the through-hole 523 when moving downward, so as to take out the optical disc 4 located below.

[0084] In one embodiment, the number of the notches 5221 is four, and the number of the corresponding gripping portions 11 is also four, and the shape of the gripping portion 11 is consistent with the shape of the through hole 5222, that is, the gripping portion 11 is columnar. Part of the outer edge of the gripping portion 11 can fit or approach the inner surface of the through hole 5222.

[0085] Fig.14 FIG. 2 is a schematic flow chart of a method for controlling a disk grabber according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig.14 As shown, the control method includes:

[0086] Step S100, moving the claw of the disc grabber toward the center of the disc into the center hole of the stacked discs until it reaches the target disc;

[0087] Step S200, driving all the gripping parts of the gripper to rotate synchronously in a first rotation direction until the claws of all the gripping parts are clamped on the edges of the center holes of the target optical disc;

[0088] Step S300, controlling the disc grabber to move upward and hold up the target disc and all the discs above the target disc.

[0089] In step S100, the target optical disc can be, for example, any designated optical disc in the optical disc cartridge. The control method further comprises the following steps: after receiving the instruction to unload the target optical disc, driving all gripping parts to continue to rotate synchronously in the first rotation direction until the lower claws of all gripping parts are disengaged while the upper claws are not disengaged, thereby unloading the target optical disc.

[0090] In one embodiment, the control method further includes the following steps: after unloading the target disc, when continuing to unload the bottom disc on the current disc grabber, controlling all the claws to rotate simultaneously in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction until all the claws are facing the edge of the center hole of the disc; controlling all the claws to continue to rotate simultaneously in the second rotation direction until all the upper claws are disengaged from the edge of the center hole of the disc and all the lower claws are not disengaged from the edge of the center hole of the disc, so that all the discs are lowered to the height of one disc and are supported by all the lower claws; controlling all the claws to rotate simultaneously in the first rotation direction until all the claws are facing the edge of the center hole of the disc; controlling all the claws to continue to rotate in the first rotation direction, and stop rotating when all the lower claws are disengaged from the edge of the center hole of the disc and all the upper claws are not disengaged from the edge of the center hole of the disc, thereby unloading the bottom disc.

[0091] In one embodiment, the control method further comprises the following step: when all other optical discs are unloaded after the target optical disc is unloaded, all the claws rotate in the first direction at the same time until all the claws return to the initial state.

[0092] At this point, those skilled in the art should recognize that, although multiple exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described in detail herein, many other variations or modifications that conform to the general principles of the present invention can still be directly determined or derived based on the content disclosed in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be understood and recognized as covering all these other variations or modifications.

Claims

1. A plate grabber, characterized in that: A gripping structure for gripping or unloading an optical disc comprises at least two gripping portions arranged in a spaced relationship; Each of the gripping parts has at least one claw, and each of the gripping parts is configured to be able to extend into the central hole of the optical disc and to be rotatable so that the claw is rotated to be clamped on the edge of the central hole of the optical disc; At least two of the gripping parts are configured to grip the optical disc when their corresponding claws are engaged with the edge of the central hole of the optical disc.

2. The plate grabber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The gripping portion is configured to be columnar and extends along the direction in which the optical disks are stacked, and two claws are arranged in the extending direction of the gripping portion; Each of the claws is configured to hold the optical disc above it when clamped on the edge of the center hole of the optical disc, the distance between the two claws is the thickness of an optical disc, and the projections of the two claws in the direction of the disc surface are staggered and partially overlapped; Optionally, the gripping portion is arranged so that when extending into the central hole of the optical disc, all claws face the center of the optical disc.

3. The plate grabber according to claim 1, characterized in that: A guide slope is provided on one side of the lower end of the gripping portion, and the guide slope is configured to make the width of the lower end of the gripping portion gradually narrow from top to bottom.

4. The plate grabber according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: It also includes a driving mechanism, which includes a driving motor and a gear assembly driven by the driving motor. The gear assembly is arranged on the top of the gripping portion and is used to drive the gripping portion to rotate.

5. The plate grabber according to claim 4, characterized in that: The gear assembly comprises: A driving gear connected to the driving motor; At least two driven gears, respectively corresponding to at least two of the gripping parts and connected to the driving gears, each driven gear correspondingly drives one gripping part to rotate; Optionally, the driving gear drives all the driven gears to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise at the same time, thereby driving all the gripping parts to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise synchronously.

6. The plate grabber according to any one of claims 2-3 and 5, characterized in that: Also includes: The optical disc quantity detector is used for detecting the quantity of the optical discs located above the claws when the gripping portion extends into the center hole of the optical disc.

7. An optical disk library, characterized in that: The invention comprises a dish grabber as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The optical disk library according to claim 7, characterized in that: The optical disc cartridge further comprises an outer shell, an inner cartridge arranged in the outer shell and capable of being moved out of the outer shell, and the inner cartridge comprises: The optical disc accommodating portion is used to accommodate a plurality of stacked optical discs; A limiting member is arranged at the center of the optical disc accommodating portion, the limiting member extends in a vertical direction perpendicular to the disc surface direction of the optical disc, and is configured to penetrate the center holes of the multiple optical discs to limit the shaking of the multiple optical discs in the disc surface direction, and allow the multiple optical discs to be displaced in the vertical direction; Optionally, the limiting member is configured to be columnar, and the cross section of the limiting member in the direction of the disk surface is circular; Any circular cross section of the limiting member has at least two notches, and the positions of the notches on the same vertical line are kept consistent, so as to form a through hole on the limiting member; Optionally, the at least two notches of the limiting member are evenly distributed on the circular cross-section.

9. A method for controlling a plate grabber according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that: The steps include: The claw of the disc grabber moves toward the center of the disc into the center hole of the stacked discs until it reaches the target disc; Driving all the gripping parts of the gripper to rotate synchronously in a first rotation direction until the claws of all the gripping parts are clamped on the edge of the center hole of the target optical disc; The disc grabber is controlled to move upward and hold up the target optical disc and all the optical discs above the target optical disc.

10. The control method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The following steps are also included: After receiving the instruction to unload the target optical disc, driving all the gripping parts to continue to rotate synchronously in the first rotation direction until the lower claws of all the gripping parts are disengaged and the upper claws are not disengaged, thereby unloading the target optical disc; Optionally, the control method further comprises the following steps: When receiving a request to continue unloading the bottom optical disc on the current disc grabber after unloading the target optical disc, all the claws are controlled to rotate simultaneously in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction until all the claws are facing the edge of the center hole of the optical disc; Controlling all the claws to continue to rotate in the second rotation direction simultaneously until all the upper claws are disengaged from the edge of the center hole of the optical disc and all the lower claws are not disengaged from the edge of the center hole of the optical disc, so that all the optical discs are lowered by the height of one optical disc and are supported by all the lower claws; Controlling all the claws to rotate toward the first rotation direction at the same time until all the claws are facing the edge of the center hole of the optical disc; Controlling all the claws to continue rotating in the first rotation direction, and stopping the rotation when all the lower claws are separated from the edge of the center hole of the optical disc and all the upper claws are not separated from the edge of the center hole of the optical disc, so as to unload the bottom optical disc; Optionally, the control method further comprises the following steps: When all other optical discs are unloaded after the target optical disc is unloaded, all the claws rotate toward the first direction at the same time until all the claws return to the initial state.

Images