Transfer table capable of exchanging optical discs across library bodies, cascade optical disc library and scheduling method

Abstract

The invention discloses a transfer table capable of exchanging optical disks across library bodies, a cascade optical disk library and a scheduling method. The transfer table comprises a base, a rotary transmission table and two accommodating boxes oppositely arranged on the end face, away from the base, of the rotary transmission table. A rotary transmission table is mounted on the base, and the base can drive the rotary transmission table to rotate around the central axis of the rotary transmission table in the horizontal direction; the rotary transmission table is oppositely provided with two linear driving assemblies and can drive the corresponding containing boxes to do linear motion through the two linear driving assemblies correspondingly. Through the arrangement of the transfer table, the utilization rate of the CD-ROM in the optical disk cabinet and the space storage density of the optical disk jukebox can be improved, the data processing efficiency is greatly improved, and meanwhile large-capacity storage of the cascade optical disk jukebox is achieved with low cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of data storage technology, and in particular to a transfer station, cascaded optical disc libraries, and scheduling method for exchanging optical discs across different libraries. Background Technology

[0002] Optical disc libraries, as a type of high-capacity, long-term, secure, and reliable data storage device, have always held an important position in the field of cold and warm data storage. Their core function is to automatically retrieve and place optical discs between numerous storage bays and optical disc drives using a robotic optical disc arm, thereby achieving automated data reading, writing, and management.

[0003] Existing optical disc library products mostly adopt simple stacked or array structures in terms of layout, with each rack operating independently. This has obvious inherent drawbacks: First, modules such as the optical disc array area, optical disc drives, and robotic arms are placed independently in a single optical disc library rack. Optical disc transportation relies on a single robotic arm to perform all transportation tasks, and can only transport optical discs within a single rack. This leads to unreasonable utilization of optical disc storage and optical disc drives. For example, when existing optical disc racks on the market process tasks, multiple racks are controlled separately and each processes tasks independently. The following situation often occurs: If one rack can execute a maximum number of tasks p1 and the number of requests q1, and another rack can execute a maximum number of tasks p2 and the number of requests q2, when p1 < q1 and p2 > q2, since the first rack can only process p1 requests, the remaining (q1-p1) requests need to wait, while the second rack can process all q2 tasks, with (p2-q2) task processing capacity idle. The reverse is also true. This shows that existing optical disc library products often exhibit an unreasonable operating situation when handling multiple tasks, where some racks have insufficient capacity (task waiting) while others have excessive capacity (capacity idle), which greatly reduces the data processing efficiency of the optical disc library. Secondly, the processing capacity of the optical disc drives is not used reasonably. When all the optical disc drives in a single rack are occupied, if a new data processing task is required, it can only wait for the current task to complete. This results in an unreasonable situation where one or more racks are fully loaded while other racks are idle. Summary of the Invention This invention provides a cascaded optical disc library and scheduling method that enables the exchange of optical discs across different libraries, thereby overcoming the aforementioned technical problems.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution of the present invention is as follows: A transfer station for exchanging optical discs across libraries includes: a base, a rotary drive platform, and two receiving boxes disposed opposite each other on the end face of the rotary drive platform away from the base, the receiving boxes being used to hold the optical discs; the rotary drive platform is mounted on the base and is capable of driving the rotary drive platform to rotate horizontally about the central axis of the rotary drive platform; the rotary drive platform is provided with two linear drive components opposite each other, and is capable of driving the corresponding receiving boxes to perform linear motion through the two linear drive components respectively. Furthermore, the base includes a base plate; the base plate is provided with a positioning shaft, an annular double slide rail surrounding the positioning shaft, and a first drive unit for driving the rotary transmission table to rotate. Furthermore, the rotary transmission table includes a rotary table, and each end of the rotary table is provided with a bearing platform; the end face of the rotary table near the positioning shaft is provided with a hollow shaft rotatably connected to the positioning shaft, and a transmission gear ring that meshes with the first drive unit is provided around the hollow shaft; each bearing platform is provided with a plurality of first sliders that match the annular double slide rail on its end face near the annular double slide rail. Furthermore, each of the linear drive components includes a linear double slide rail and a second drive unit; the linear double slide rail is disposed on the end face of each support platform away from the annular double slide rail; each receiving box is provided with a rack and a second slider for mating and connecting with the linear double slide rail on the end face near the linear double slide rail; the support platform is provided with a groove for accommodating the second drive unit, the second drive unit is disposed in the groove and meshes with the rack.

[0005] Furthermore, guide rails are provided at both ends of the support platform along the moving direction of the receiving box, and guide blocks matching the guide rails are provided on the two sides of the receiving box opposite to the guide rails.

[0006] Furthermore, the inner sidewall of the receiving box is provided with latches, which engage with the optical disc holder to secure the optical disc holder. A cascaded optical disc library includes: a transfer station and... Two adjacent optical disc drive racks, ,and Each optical disc rack includes at least one online rack; the base of the transfer station spans the top or bottom of two adjacent optical disc racks and transports optical discs stored between different optical disc racks by rotation.

[0007] A method for scheduling optical discs in a cascaded optical disc library, comprising the following steps: S1, Obtain data processing instructions; S2. The cascaded optical disc library executes its work based on data processing instructions and schedules optical discs stored in different optical disc racks according to the actual data processing situation, including: If two adjacent optical disc racks are both online racks, and one online rack has no available optical drives while the other online rack has available optical drives, then a robotic arm will grab the optical disc cartridge containing the required optical disc from the online rack without available optical drives and place it in the corresponding receiving box. The rotary transmission table will rotate 180° to send the optical disc cartridge to the online rack with available optical drives. The robotic arm in the online rack with available optical drives will grab the optical disc cartridge and place the optical disc in the optical drive position for processing. If one of two adjacent optical disc racks is an online rack and the other is an offline rack, and if the required optical disc is stored in the offline rack according to the data processing instructions, then a robotic arm will grab the optical disc cartridge containing the required optical disc in the offline rack and place it in the corresponding container. The rotary transmission table will rotate 180° to send the optical disc cartridge to the online rack. The robotic arm in the online rack will grab the optical disc cartridge and place the optical disc in the optical drive bay for processing. Beneficial effects: This invention, by setting a rotary transmission stage on the base and two receiving boxes on the rotary transmission stage, enables the rotary transmission stage to rotate under the drive of the base, and the rotary transmission stage can drive the receiving boxes to perform linear motion. Through the setting of the transfer stage, this invention can improve the utilization rate of optical drives in optical disc racks and the space storage density of optical disc libraries, significantly improve data processing efficiency, and achieve large-capacity storage of cascaded optical disc libraries at a relatively low cost. Attached Figure Description To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0008] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the transfer station in this invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the rotary transmission table in this invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the receiving box in this invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram showing the location of the transfer station installed in the optical disc cabinet in this invention; Figure 5 This is a partial structural diagram of the online optical disc library in this invention; Figures 6-10 This is a schematic diagram illustrating various combinations of cascaded optical disc libraries in this invention; Figure 11 This is a flowchart of the process of receiving data processing instructions in the online optical disc library in this invention.

[0009] In the diagram: 1. Base; 11. Annular double slide rail; 12. First drive unit; 2. Rotary transmission table; 21. Rotary table; 211. Transmission gear ring; 22. Bearing platform; 221. First slider; 222. Linear double slide rail; 223. Second drive unit; 224. Guide rail; 3. Receiving box; 31. Guide block; 4. First cabinet; 5. Second cabinet. Detailed Implementation

[0010] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0011] This embodiment provides a transfer station that allows for the exchange of optical discs across different libraries, such as... Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, it includes: a base 1, a rotary transmission platform 2, and two receiving boxes 3 disposed opposite to each other on the end face of the rotary transmission platform 2 away from the base, the receiving boxes 3 being used to hold the optical disc; the rotary transmission platform 2 is mounted on the base 1 and can drive the rotary transmission platform 2 to rotate horizontally around the central axis of the rotary transmission platform 2; the rotary transmission platform 2 is provided with two linear drive components opposite to each other, and can drive the corresponding receiving boxes 3 to perform linear motion through the two linear drive components respectively. Specifically, by combining the transfer station provided in this embodiment with the existing robotic arm of the optical disc cabinet, the optical disc cartridge can be taken out of the optical disc cabinet and sent to the receiving box 3 of the transfer station. The rotary transmission table 2 can rotate 180° to drive the receiving box 3 and the optical disc cartridge to the disc cartridge exchange area of ​​the adjacent cabinet. Alternatively, the optical disc cartridge in the disc cartridge exchange area can be taken away and sent to the optical disc wall of the optical disc cabinet for storage, or the optical disc in the disc cartridge can be sent to the optical drive bay for data processing. Based on the relay station provided in this embodiment, the data storage center can increase the data storage capacity by setting up a certain number of online cabinets with higher costs and connecting them in series with a certain number of offline cabinets with lower costs. The relay station can also automatically exchange optical disc cartridges across cabinets, improving the efficiency of optical disc cartridge handling and replacement. At the same time, it can realize unified management of all optical disc cartridges in the server, which greatly improves the management efficiency of optical disc cartridges.

[0012] In a specific embodiment, the base 1 includes a base plate; the base plate is provided with a positioning shaft, an annular double slide rail 11 surrounding the positioning shaft, and a first drive unit 12 for driving the rotary transmission table 2 to rotate. Specifically, the first drive unit 12 includes a drive motor and a drive gear. The drive motor is mounted on the base plate and the motor rotation shaft is connected to the drive gear. The drive gear and the transmission gear ring 211 are meshed together. The rotary transmission table 2 completes a 180° rotation under the drive of the drive motor to swap the positions of the two receiving boxes.

[0013] Specifically, in this embodiment, preferably, an annular double slide rail 11 is provided to ensure the stability of the rotary transmission table 2 during rotation.

[0014] In a specific embodiment, the rotary transmission table 2 includes a rotary table 21, and the two ends of the rotary table 21 are respectively provided with bearing platforms 22; the end face of the rotary table 21 near the positioning shaft is provided with a hollow shaft that is rotatably connected to the positioning shaft, and a transmission gear ring 211 that meshes with the first drive unit 12 is provided around the hollow shaft; each bearing platform 22 is provided with a plurality of first sliders 221 that match the annular double slide rail 11 on the end face near the annular double slide rail 11. Specifically, in this embodiment, by setting a transmission gear ring 211 at the outer edge of the rotary table 21 to cooperate with the first drive unit 12, the force transmission can be made more uniform, the concentrated force on the rotary transmission table 2 can be reduced, and the rotational accuracy of the rotary transmission table 2 can be guaranteed.

[0015] Specifically, to achieve stable and precise rotational movement of the rotary transmission table 2 relative to the base 1, this embodiment employs a revolute joint connection structure based on the matching of a positioning shaft and a hollow shaft. It should be noted that the shaft system fit structure described in this embodiment is only one type of revolute joint capable of achieving rotational function. In practical engineering applications, other types of revolute joint structures can be selected based on requirements such as rotational speed, accuracy, and installation space. Specifically, such as... Figure 2 As shown, the rotary transmission table 2 is connected to the base plate via sliders 221 to ensure stability during rotation and to deliver the container to the accurate position. Preferably, this embodiment provides four sliders 221 to match the annular double slide rail 11, ensuring stability during the rotation of the rotary transmission table 2.

[0016] In a specific embodiment, each of the linear drive components includes a linear double slide rail 222 and a second drive unit 223; the linear double slide rail 222 is disposed on the end face of each support platform 22 away from the annular double slide rail 11; each receiving box 3 is provided with a rack and a second slider for matching and connecting with the linear double slide rail 222 on the end face near the linear double slide rail 222; the support platform 22 is provided with a groove for accommodating the second drive unit 223, the second drive unit 223 is disposed in the groove and meshes with the rack.

[0017] Specifically, in this embodiment, the second drive unit 223 includes a drive motor and a drive gear that matches the rack to drive the support platform 22 to move along the linear double slide rail 222.

[0018] Specifically, since the dimensions of different rack models vary in practice, such as some racks being wider, installing a transfer station at the bottom or top side panel or side frame of the rack can result in a greater distance between the robotic arm and the receiving box 3. This may prevent the robotic arm from accurately placing the optical disc tray into the receiving box. Although increasing the size of the transfer station can reduce the distance between the robotic arm and the receiving box 3, allowing the robotic arm to place or retrieve the optical disc tray, the increased size of the transfer station would mean that only one transfer station can be installed between two racks. Therefore, in this embodiment, the support platform 22 is designed to be slidable. When the rack where the transfer station is installed is wider, the support platform 22 can be moved to allow the robotic arm to place or retrieve the optical disc tray. This ensures smooth operation while also leaving enough space to install more transfer stations, further improving work efficiency.

[0019] The support platform 22 is provided with guide rails 224 at both ends along the moving direction of the receiving box, such as Figure 3 As shown, the two sides of the receiving box 3 opposite to the guide rail are respectively provided with guide blocks 31 that match the guide rail.

[0020] Specifically, the movement trajectory of the support platform 22 can be restricted by the cooperation of the guide rail 224 and the guide block 31, so as to ensure the smoothness and accuracy of the movement.

[0021] In a specific embodiment, the inner sidewall of the receiving box 3 is provided with buckles, which engage with the optical disc tray to secure the optical disc tray. Specifically, in practice, existing cabinets use fixing buckles on the sidewalls of each optical disc tray compartment and matching optical disc tray buckles on the outer wall of the optical disc tray. This allows the optical disc tray to be secured in the compartment, ensuring its stability when the cabinet moves. When a robotic arm needs to remove the optical disc tray, it pinches the buckles on both sides of the tray to separate them from the fixing buckles, allowing the tray to be easily removed. This embodiment, referring to the above structure, provides corresponding buckles on the inner sidewall of the receiving box 3, thereby engaging the receiving box 3 with the optical disc tray and ensuring the stability of the optical disc tray during rotation.

[0022] This embodiment also provides a cascaded optical disc library, such as Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, it includes: a transfer station and Two adjacent optical disc drive racks, ,and Each optical disc rack must contain at least one online rack; Specifically, in practice, a server rack that has both CDs and CD drives is generally called an online server rack, while a server rack that only has CDs and no CD drives is called an offline server rack.

[0023] The base of the transfer station spans the top or bottom of two adjacent optical disc racks and transports optical discs stored between different optical disc racks through rotational motion.

[0024] Specifically, in this embodiment, as Figures 6 to 10 As shown, various combinations of cascaded optical disc libraries can be formed based on online and offline racks and transfer stations. One or more online racks can be connected in series to one or more offline racks equipped only with robotic arms and optical disc walls. Specifically, the number and combinations of online and offline racks can be set according to the actual needs of concurrent task scale. The transfer station can transfer optical disc cartridges from offline racks to online racks for data processing, and then retrieve them after processing, significantly improving processing efficiency. Furthermore, multiple online racks with optical disc read / write capabilities connected in series to pure optical disc racks without such capabilities can also be used as offline storage for optical discs. That is, when some optical discs in an online rack are full of data, they can be transported to offline racks via the transfer station, thus greatly expanding the storage space of online racks while maintaining low cost. Simultaneously, the transfer station can be combined with robotic arms to assist in moving optical disc cartridges between different racks when no data processing tasks are required, thereby avoiding manual handling, saving labor costs, and greatly improving the automation level of storage node data management.

[0025] This embodiment also provides a scheduling method for scheduling optical discs in a cascaded optical disc library, the specific steps of which include: S1, Obtain data processing instructions, such as Figure 11 As shown; S2, the cascaded optical disc library executes operations based on data processing instructions and schedules optical discs stored in different optical disc racks according to the actual data processing situation, including: If two adjacent optical disc racks are both online racks, and one online rack has no available optical drives while the other online rack has available optical drives, then a robotic arm will grab the optical disc cartridge containing the required optical disc from the online rack without available optical drives and place it in the corresponding storage box. The rotary transmission table 2 will rotate 180° to send the optical disc cartridge to the online rack with available optical drives. The robotic arm in the online rack with available optical drives will grab the optical disc cartridge and place the optical disc in the optical drive position for processing. If one of two adjacent optical disc racks is an online rack and the other is an offline rack, and if the required optical disc is stored in the offline rack according to the data processing instructions, then the robotic arm will grab the optical disc cartridge containing the required optical disc in the offline rack and place it in the corresponding container. The rotary transmission table 2 will rotate 180° to send the optical disc cartridge to the online rack. The robotic arm in the online rack will grab the optical disc cartridge and place the optical disc in the optical drive bay for processing. Specifically, taking racks 4 (first rack) and 5 (second rack) as examples, rack 4 can handle tasks a-1, a-2, a-3…a-p1, with received requests s-1, s-2, s-3…s-q1. Rack 5 can handle tasks b-1, b-2, b-3…b-p2, with received requests r-1, r-2, r-3…r-q2. Rack 4 can execute a maximum of p1 tasks, and rack 5 can execute a maximum of p2 tasks. The maximum number of tasks is determined by the number of optical drives in the rack, and the number of requests is determined by the number of requests issued by the user. At this time, a relay station can be used to exchange optical disc cartridges between adjacent racks. If a rack reaches its task limit, tasks can be transferred to other racks with available capacity. Specifically, this includes: (1) When the number of requests for the first cabinet 4 is q1 < p1 and the number of requests for the second cabinet 5 is q2 < p2, the first cabinet 4 and the second cabinet 5 process the data separately. (2) When p1 < q1, p2 > q2 or p1 > q1, p2 < q2, and p1 + p2 ≥ q1 + q2, that is, when the total processing capacity of the two racks is greater than the total number of received tasks, the optical disc cartridge can be transferred to the adjacent rack through the relay station. For example, if the number of requests q1 > p1 in the first rack 4, and the second rack 5 has idle processing capacity, the robot arm of the first rack 4 will take out the optical disc cartridge and transport it to the disc cartridge exchange area of ​​the first rack 4. The optical disc cartridge will be inserted into the receiving box 3 of the relay station. The rotary transmission table 2 will drive the optical disc cartridge to rotate to the disc cartridge exchange area of ​​the second rack 5. The robot arm of the second rack 5 will take out the optical disc cartridge and transport the optical disc inside to the optical drive position of the second rack 5 for data processing. After the data processing is completed, the above procedure will be reversed to send the optical disc cartridge back to the first rack 4, and vice versa. By using two racks, all (q1+q2) tasks can be handled simultaneously, avoiding the unreasonable situation where one rack is undercapacitated or idle, thus greatly improving the data processing efficiency of the optical disc library. Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit them. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features therein. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A transfer station for exchanging optical discs across different libraries, characterized in that, include: A base (1), a rotary transmission table (2), and two receiving boxes (3) disposed opposite to each other on the end face of the rotary transmission table (2) away from the base, the receiving boxes (3) being used to hold the optical disc; The rotary transmission table (2) is mounted on the base (1) and can drive the rotary transmission table (2) to rotate in the horizontal direction around the central axis of the rotary transmission table (2). The rotary transmission table (2) is provided with two linear drive components, and can drive the corresponding container (3) to make linear motion through the two linear drive components respectively.

2. The transfer station according to claim 1, characterized in that, The base (1) includes a base plate; The base plate is provided with a positioning shaft, a ring-shaped double slide rail (11) surrounding the positioning shaft, and a first drive unit (12) for driving the rotary transmission table (2) to rotate.

3. The transfer station according to claim 2, characterized in that, The rotary transmission table (2) includes a rotary table (21), and the two ends of the rotary table (21) are respectively provided with bearing platforms (22). The rotary table (21) has a hollow shaft that is rotatably connected to the positioning shaft on its end face near the positioning shaft, and a transmission gear ring (211) that meshes with the first drive unit (12) is provided around the hollow shaft. Each of the support platforms (22) has a plurality of first sliders (221) on the end face near the annular double slide rail (11) that match the annular double slide rail (11).

4. The transfer station according to claim 3, characterized in that, Each of the linear drive components includes a linear double slide rail (222) and a second drive unit (223); The linear double slide rail (222) is disposed on the end face of each support platform (22) away from the annular double slide rail (11); each receiving box (3) is provided with a rack and a second slider for matching and connecting with the linear double slide rail (222) on the end face near the linear double slide rail (222); The support platform (22) is provided with a groove for accommodating the second drive unit (223), which is disposed in the groove and meshes with the rack.

5. The transfer station according to claim 4, characterized in that, The support platform (22) has guide rails (224) at both ends along the moving direction of the container box, and the container box (3) has guide blocks (31) matching the guide rails on its two sides opposite to the guide rails.

6. The transfer station according to claim 5, characterized in that, The inner sidewall of the container (3) is provided with a buckle, and the buckle is used to engage with the optical disc holder to fix the optical disc holder.

7. A cascaded optical disc library, characterized in that, include: The transfer station as described in claims 1-6 and Two adjacent optical disc drive racks, ,and Each optical disc rack must contain at least one online rack; The base of the transfer station spans the top or bottom of two adjacent optical disc racks and transports optical discs stored between different optical disc racks through rotational motion.

8. A method for scheduling optical discs in a cascaded optical disc library as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The specific steps include: S1, Obtain data processing instructions; S2. The cascaded optical disc library executes its work based on data processing instructions and schedules optical discs stored in different optical disc racks according to the actual data processing situation, including: If two adjacent optical disc racks are both online racks, and one online rack has no free optical drive while the other online rack has a free optical drive, then a robotic arm grabs the optical disc cartridge containing the required optical disc in the online rack without a free optical drive and places it in the corresponding container. The rotary transmission table (2) rotates 180° to send the optical disc cartridge to the online rack with a free optical drive. The robotic arm in the online rack with a free optical drive grabs the optical disc cartridge and places the optical disc in it in the optical drive position for processing. If one of two adjacent optical disc racks is an online rack and the other is an offline rack, and if the required optical disc is stored in the offline rack according to the data processing instructions, then the robotic arm grabs the optical disc cassette containing the required optical disc in the offline rack and places it in the corresponding container. The rotary transmission table (2) rotates 180° to send the optical disc cassette to the online rack. The robotic arm in the online rack grabs the optical disc cassette and places the optical disc in it in the optical drive bay for processing.

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