Automated data storage library media handling with a plurality of pickers having multiple grippers
US5956301A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 25, 1998 |
| Grant date | Sep 21, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 25, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B2220/90
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Disclosed are an automated data storage library having a plurality of pickers with multiple grippers and a method for operating the library to respond to received input commands which require an exchange of media at a point of exchange (e.g., at a storage slot or read/write station), by first determining whether the source and destination locations for the media to be exchanged are on opposite sides of the point of exchange. Next, if the source and destination locations for the media to be exchanged are on opposite sides of the point of exchange, the exchange is decomposed into separate moves, and each of the separate moves is assigned to a different one of the pickers. The assignment may additionally comprise ordering the sequence of the separate moves so that the fetch of a medium from the point of exchange precedes the delivery of another medium to the point of exchange, and the picker selected to fetch the medium from the point of exchange is the picker having an available gripper which is closest to the destination location.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.