JP2000235744A - Tape driving device and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable defining the service life of a tape cassette based on causal relation of physical change of a tape cassette which has used by updating number of seated times of tape cassette information of the memory provided in the tape cassette while counting the number of times when the tape cassette is seated in a normal position. SOLUTION: It is made possible to grasp the number of seated times of a tape cassette by providing a mechanical counter in an MIC(Memory In Cassette). Then, the number of seated times and the physical change of a positioning hole 42 (for example, shaving nearby the opening part) due to this number of seated times or the like are made to correspond. Similarly, the number of seated times and the physical change of the contact part between the terminal pin 7 of the MIC and a spring terminal 101 are made to correspond. When the tape cassette is moved to an ordinary operation state and an unloading request is detected, the cassette compartment down count and the cassette compartment half down count stored in the MIC are updated by reading in the mechanical counter from the MIC.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape drive and a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A so-called tape streamer drive is known as a drive device capable of recording / reproducing digital data on / from a magnetic tape. Such a tape streamer drive can have an enormous recording capacity of, for example, several tens to several hundreds of gigabytes, depending on the tape length of a tape cassette as a medium. It is widely used for such purposes as backing up data recorded on media. It is also suitable for use in storing image data having a large data size. The tape cassette is a so-called removable medium that can be ejected from a tape streamer drive. Therefore, data recorded on the same tape cassette can be reproduced by another tape streamer drive, and data can be recorded by a different tape streamer drive.

[0003]

When a tape cassette is loaded in a tape streamer drive, it is seated at a proper position by a positioning member provided on the drive side and a positioning hole formed in a housing of the tape cassette, for example. It has been like that. Reasons for performing such positioning include, for example, recognition of write protection by a write protection hole formed in the housing of the tape cassette, smooth loading of the tape cassette, and tape running by sitting in a regular position. And so on.

However, if the tape cassette is used for a long time, a load is applied to the positioning member and the positioning hole each time the tape cassette is seated, so that the opening of the positioning hole is shaved and widened, and accurate positioning is performed. It becomes difficult. Therefore, it is desired to know the causal relationship between the number of times the tape cassette is seated and the physical change (e.g., scraping) of the positioning holes, set the number of durable times of loading, and specify the cause of the malfunction. ing.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is to move the magnetic tape when the tape cassette containing the magnetic tape is loaded and to move the magnetic tape with respect to the magnetic tape. When a tape drive means capable of recording or reproducing information by means of a tape cassette and a memory for recording management information for managing recording or reproduction of the loaded tape cassette with respect to the magnetic tape are provided, A memory drive unit capable of performing required communication processing with respect to a memory to read or write management information; and detecting, from the memory, seating number information which is information on the number of times the tape cassette has been seated at a predetermined position. Means for detecting the number of times of sitting,
Counting means for counting the number of seating operations performed from when the tape cassette is loaded to when the tape cassette is ejected; and adding the number of seating operations counted by the counting means to the seating frequency information. Thus, the tape drive device is provided with a seating information updating unit configured to update the seating frequency information.

[0006] Also, in a tape cassette accommodating a magnetic tape and a recording medium provided in the tape cassette and recording management information for managing recording or reproduction on the magnetic tape, The recording medium is configured to record the number of seating operations performed when the recording medium is used in a tape drive device.

According to the present invention, the number of seating times of the recording medium can be stored in a memory provided in the recording medium. Therefore, by referring to the number of seating times and associating the tape cassette with a physical change such as a positioning mechanism, a causal relationship relating to a required operation can be grasped.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Here, a tape cassette provided with a non-volatile memory by the present applicant and a tape drive device (tape streamer drive) capable of recording / reproducing digital data corresponding to the tape cassette with the memory are described. Various inventions have been proposed, but the present invention is based on the data storage system including the tape cassette with memory and the tape streamer drive applied to the present invention. The nonvolatile memory provided in the tape cassette is MIC (Memory
In Cassette). The description will be made in the following order. 1. 1. Configuration of tape cassette 2. Configuration of tape streamer drive 3. Operation of the cassette compartment 4. MIC data structure 5. Structure of tape cassette corresponding to data format Update mechanism counter

1. First, a tape cassette with an MIC as a contact type memory corresponding to the tape streamer drive of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 conceptually shows the internal structure of the tape cassette. The tape cassette 1 shown in FIG. 2 is provided with reel hubs 2A and 2B, and a tape width 8 between the reel hubs 2A and 2B.
mm of magnetic tape 3 is wound.

The tape cassette 1 is provided with an MIC 4 which is a nonvolatile memory, and five terminals 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E are provided from a module of the MIC 4.
Are derived and configured as a power supply terminal, a data input terminal, a clock input terminal, a ground terminal, a spare terminal, and the like. As will be described in detail later, the MIC 4 includes a manufacturing date, a manufacturing location, a tape thickness, a length, a material, a use history of recording data for each partition formed on the tape 3 for each tape cassette. Is stored, user information, and the like. In this specification, various types of information stored in the MIC 4 are also referred to as “management information”.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the external appearance of the tape cassette 1. The entire housing is composed of an upper case 6a and a lower case 6.
b and guard panel 8, a normal 8mm VTR
Is basically the same as the configuration of the tape cassette used in the above. Label surface 9 on the side of this tape cassette 1
Are provided with terminal pins 7A, 7B, 7C, 7D, 7E, and the terminals 5A, 5B, 5
C, 5D, and 5E, respectively. That is,
In this example, the tape cassette 1 is composed of a tape streamer drive 10 described below and the terminal pins 7A, 7B, 7
Mutual transmission of data signals and the like is performed by physically contacting via C, 7D, and 7E.

2. Configuration of Tape Streamer Drive Next, referring to FIG.
Will be described. The tape streamer drive 10 is used for the magnetic tape 3 of the loaded tape cassette 1.
Recording / reproduction is performed by a helical scan method. The rotary drum 11 has two recording heads 12A and 12B having different azimuth angles, and three reproducing heads 13A and 13A having respective required azimuth angles.
B and 13C are provided at predetermined angular intervals.

The rotary drum 11 around which the magnetic tape 3 drawn from the tape cassette 1 is wound is rotated by a drum motor 14A. A capstan (not shown) for moving the magnetic tape 3 at a constant speed is driven to rotate by a capstan motor 14B. The reel hubs 2A and 2B in the tape cassette 1 are independently rotated in the forward and reverse directions by the reel motors 14C and 14D, respectively. The loading motor 14E drives a loading mechanism (not shown) to execute loading / unloading of the magnetic tape 3 onto the rotating drum 11. The eject motor 28 is a motor for driving a loading mechanism of the tape cassette 1, and performs seating of the inserted tape cassette 1 and discharging operation of the tape cassette 1.

The drum motor 14A, the capstan motor 14B, the reel motors 14C and 14D, the loading motor 14E, and the eject motor 28 are driven to rotate by applying electric power from the mechanical driver 17. The mechanical driver 17 drives each motor based on the control from the servo controller 16. The servo controller 16 controls the rotation speed of each motor to run during normal recording / reproducing, running at high speed, running tape at fast-forward and rewind, loading a tape cassette, loading / unloading, and loading tape. Control operation, and the like. Although not shown, the drum motor 14A, the capstan motor 14B, and the reel motors 14C and 14D are provided with FGs (frequency generators) in order for the servo controller 16 to execute servo control of each motor. The rotation information of each motor can be detected. Then, the servo controller 16 determines the rotation speed of each motor based on these FG pulses, thereby detecting an error between the rotation speed of each motor and the target rotation speed, and controlling the applied power corresponding to the error. Is performed on the mechanical driver 17, it is possible to realize rotation speed control by a closed loop. Therefore,
During normal operations during recording / reproduction, various operations such as high-speed search, fast-forward, and rewind, the servo controller 16 can control each motor to rotate at a target rotation speed corresponding to each operation. .

The EEP-ROM 18 stores constants and the like used by the servo controller 16 for servo control of each motor.

The servo controller 16 is an interface controller / ECC formatter 22 (hereinafter, IF)
/ ECC controller), and is bidirectionally connected to a system controller 15 that executes control processing of the entire system.

The hole detection mechanism 29 is a mechanism for detecting various identification holes formed in the loaded tape cassette, and includes, for example, pins corresponding to the various identification holes and a photo sensor. According to a predetermined standard, a tape cassette has its tape type,
Various identification holes that are opened and closed depending on the presence or absence of write protection are formed. The hole detection mechanism 29 detects these identification holes. The detection information of the hole detection mechanism 26 is
By being supplied to the system controller 15, it becomes possible for the system controller 15 to grasp the type of the loaded tape cassette, the write protection setting status, and the like.

In the tape streamer drive 10, a SCSI interface 20 is used for input / output of data.
Is used. For example, at the time of data recording, a fixed-length record (record) is sent from the host computer 40.
Data is sequentially input via the SCSI interface 20 in units of transmission data, and supplied to the compression / decompression circuit 21 via the SCSI buffer controller 26. The SCSI buffer controller 26 controls data transfer of the SCSI interface 20. The SCSI buffer memory 27 is buffer means provided corresponding to the SCSI buffer controller 26 in order to obtain the transfer speed of the SCSI interface 20. In such a tape streamer drive system, there is also a mode in which data is transmitted from the host computer 40 in units of variable-length data sets.

In the compression / expansion circuit 21, if necessary, the input data is subjected to a compression process by a predetermined method. As an example of the compression method, for example, LZ
If a compression method using codes is adopted, in this method, a special code is assigned to a character string processed in the past and stored in the form of a dictionary. Then, the character string to be input thereafter is compared with the contents of the dictionary, and if the character string of the input data matches the code of the dictionary, the character string data is replaced with the code of the dictionary. Data of the input character string that does not match the dictionary is sequentially given a new code and registered in the dictionary. In this way, the data of the input character string is registered in the dictionary, and the data compression is performed by replacing the character string data with the code of the dictionary.

The output of the compression / decompression circuit 21 is IF / EC
The output of the compression / expansion circuit 21 is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 23 by the control operation of the IF / ECC controller 22. The data stored in the buffer memory 23 is
Under the control of the / ECC controller 22, the data is finally handled as a fixed-length unit corresponding to 40 tracks of the magnetic tape called a group, and the data is subjected to the ECC format processing.

In the ECC format processing, an error correction code is added to the recording data, and the data is subjected to modulation processing so as to conform to magnetic recording.
It is supplied to the F processing unit 19.

As a system to which the present embodiment corresponds, there are a plurality of data formats relating to recording / reproducing data for the magnetic tape 3. In this specification, this data format is referred to as an AIT format. The current tape streamer drive 10 employs a configuration capable of supporting two formats of the AIT format, the AIT-1 format and the extended AIT-2 format.

The RF processing unit 19 performs processing such as amplification and recording equalization on the supplied recording data to generate a recording signal, and supplies the recording signal to the recording heads 12A and 12B. As a result, data is recorded on the magnetic tape 3 from the recording heads 12A and 12B.

The data reproducing operation will be briefly described. Data recorded on the magnetic tape 3 is read from the reproducing head 13.
A, 13B, and 13C read out the signal as an RF reproduction signal, and the reproduction output is subjected to reproduction equalization, reproduction clock generation, binarization, decoding (for example, Viterbi decoding), and the like in an RF processing unit 19. The signal read in this manner is supplied to the IF / ECC controller 22, where the signal is first subjected to error correction processing and the like. And buffer memory 2
3 is temporarily stored, read out at a predetermined time, and supplied to the compression / decompression circuit 21. The compression / decompression circuit 21 performs data decompression processing on the data that has been compressed by the compression / decompression circuit 21 at the time of recording based on the determination of the system controller 15, and performs data decompression processing on uncompressed data. Is output without passing.
Output data of the compression / decompression circuit 21 is output to the host computer 40 as reproduction data via the SCSI buffer controller 26 and the SCSI interface 20.

FIG. 2 shows the MIC 4 together with the magnetic tape 3 of the tape cassette 1. This MIC4
When the main body of the tape cassette is loaded into the tape streamer drive, it is connected to the system controller 15 via the serial interface 35 with the terminal pins shown in FIG. Thus, the system controller 15 can read the management information recorded in the MIC 4 or update the management information.

MIC 4 and external host computer 40
During this time, mutual transmission of information is performed using SCSI commands. Therefore, especially the MIC 4 and the host computer 4
It is not necessary to provide a dedicated line between the tape cassette and the host computer 40. As a result, the exchange of data between the tape cassette and the host computer 40 can be established only by the SCSI interface.

Information is transmitted between the tape streamer drive 10 and the host computer 40 using the SCSI interface 20 as described above.
Performs various communications using SCSI commands. Therefore, the host computer 40 can instruct the system controller 15 by the SCSI command to execute data writing / reading with respect to the MIC 4.

S-RAM 24, flash ROM 25
Stores data used by the system controller 15 for various processes. For example, the flash ROM 25 stores constants and the like used for control. The S-RAM 24 is used as a work memory or a memory used for storing data read from the MIC 4, data to be written to the MIC 4, mode data set in units of tape cassettes, various flag data, and arithmetic processing. You. The S-RAM 24 and the flash ROM 25 may be configured as an internal memory of a microcomputer constituting the system controller 15, or may be configured to use a part of the area of the buffer memory 23 as a work memory.

FIG. 1 shows an example in which the tape cassette 1 provided with the MIC 4 is loaded. However, as the tape streamer drive 10, for example, a tape cassette without the MIC 4 is loaded. In such a case, recording / reproduction can be performed. In this case, since the management information of the tape cassette is recorded in the management area formed on the magnetic tape 3,
The tape streamer drive 10 reads management information recorded on the magnetic tape 3 and updates the management information.

3. Operation of Cassette Compartment Next, a main part of the configuration of the cassette compartment constituting the tape streamer drive 10 will be described. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the cassette compartment, and FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the cassette compartment. As shown in FIG. 2, the tape cassette 1 is mounted on the MIC 4-end side. The cassette compartment 60 includes a connector 71 that can contact the terminal pins 7 (A, B, C, D, and E) of the MIC 4, and the MIC 4 via the connector 71 from the terminal pins 7 when the tape cassette 1 is loaded. The information stored in the device can be read.

The cassette compartment 60 drives a movable connector holder 72 movably supporting the connector 71 and the movable connector holder 72 so that at least an end of the tape cassette 1 on the terminal pin 7 side is in a loading end position. Until the tape cassette 1 is lowered, the connector 71 is moved to a position where it does not contact the tape cassette 1, and after the end of the tape cassette 1 on the terminal pin 7 side is lowered, the connector 71 is moved to the terminal pin 7 of the tape cassette 1. And a connector holder driving mechanism 73 for moving the connector holder 73 to a position where it comes into contact with the connector holder. This operation will be described later in detail.

The outer casing side plates 61, 62 have slide plate guide shafts 81, 82 for slidably supporting the slide plates 66, 67, respectively, and move the cartridge holder 70 for supporting the tape cassette 1. Holder guide grooves 83 and 84 for the movement.

The slide plates 66 and 67 have slide guide grooves 85 and 86, respectively.
By inserting the slide plate guide shafts 81, 82 into the slide plates 66, 67, the slide plates 66, 67 become outer casing side plates 61, 6.
2 is slidably mounted on the inner surface. The slide plates 66 and 67 have movement operation grooves 87 and 88 intersecting with the cartridge holder movement guide grooves 83 and 84 provided on the outer casing side plates 61 and 62, and a rack 89 is provided at the upper end on the rear side. Have.

The transmission gear shaft 68 is rotatable across the outer casing side plates 61 and 62 by inserting one end and the other end into bearing shafts 91 and 92 provided on the outer casing side plates 61 and 62. Supported. The transmission gear shaft 68 has transmission gears 93, 94 near one end and the other end, and the transmission gears 93, 94 mesh with racks 89, 89 of the slide plates 66, 67, respectively. .

The gad motor 69 is mounted on the inner surface of the outer casing side plate 62. The gear of the gad motor 69 is connected to the limiter plate 9 attached to the inner surface of the slide plate 67.
5 is engaged with a rack 96 provided at the upper end. When the gad motor 69 is rotated, the slide plate 67 slides via the limiter plate 95. When the slide plate 67 slides, the slide plate 66 slides in synchronization with the slide plate 67 via the transmission gear 94 and the transmission gear 93.

The cartridge holder 70 has a left side surface 70.
a, guide shafts 97 and 98 are provided on the right side surface 70b, respectively. The guide shafts 97 and 98 provided on the left side surface 70a of the cartridge holder 70 pass through the movement operation grooves 87 and 88 of the slide plate 66 and are inserted into the cartridge holder movement guide grooves 83 and 84 of the outer casing side plate 61. . The guide shafts 97 and 98 provided on the right side surface 70b penetrate through the movement operation grooves 87 and 88 of the slide plate 67 and are inserted into the cartridge holder movement guide grooves 83 and 84 of the outer casing side plate 62.

The operation when the tape cassette 1 is loaded in the cassette compartment 60 will be described below. 6 to 8 used in the following description are plan views of the cassette compartment 60 and the tape cassette 1 viewed from the side. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6,
In a state where the slide plates 66 and 67 are positioned most to the right on the paper surface, the left side surfaces 70 a and
The guide shafts 97 and 98 provided on the right side surface 70b are respectively provided with the cartridge holder movement guide grooves 83 and 8 of the outer casing side plates 61 and 62.
4 is located at one end (right end) of the cartridge holder 70.
Are kept horizontal. In this state, the tape cassette 1 is inserted into the cartridge holder 70 from the guard panel 8 side, and when it is detected that the tape cassette 1 has been inserted, the gad motor 69 operates and the slide plate 6
6 and 67 are slid to the left (arrow L) in FIG. When the slide plates 66, 67 move to the left, the guide shafts 97, 98 of the cartridge holder 70 are moved by the side edges of the movement operation grooves 87, 88 provided in the slide plates 66, 67.
Is suppressed. As a result, the guide shafts 97 and 98 move along the cartridge holder movement guide grooves 83 and 84, and move the tape cassette 1 to the cassette compartment 60.
Pull in.

When the guide shafts 97 and 98 move to predetermined positions of the cartridge holder movement guide grooves 83 and 84 by sliding of the slide plates 61 and 62, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the cartridge holder 70 is inclined and then descends due to the shape of the cartridge holder movement guide grooves 83 and 84, so that the tape cassette 1 housed in the cartridge holder 70 has a rear end. (The end on the side of the terminal pin 7) is in the lowest position.

When the slide plates 61 and 62 further slide, the guard panel 8 at the leading end of the tape cassette 1 descends as shown in FIG. Thus, the guard panel 8 is opened, and the loading of the tape cassette 1 is completed. When the loading of the tape cassette 1 is completed, the bottom plate 6 of the cassette compartment 60 is inserted into the positioning hole 42 of the tape cassette 1.
The positioning member 99 provided on the tape cassette 5 is fitted to position the tape cassette 1. The movement locus of the lower end of the tape cassette 1 on the terminal pin 7 side is indicated by a two-dot chain line M in FIG.

The connector 71 has, for example, five spring terminals 101 which are in contact with the terminal pins 7 (A, B, C, D, E) of the MIC 4 through the terminal openings 41.
have. The spring terminal 101 is formed by bending a leaf spring into a substantially rectangular shape.
01a is a contact portion that contacts the terminal pin 7.

By the way, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the tape cassette 1 is loaded into the tape streamer drive. By such an operation, the tape cassette 1 is arranged at a predetermined position. Seating is called compartment full down. That is, for example, the operation is performed when the tape cassette 1 is loaded from outside the tape streamer drive 10. But,
For some reason in the state shown in FIG.
The tape streamer drive 10 performs a retry of the communication processing (reloading of the tape cassette) to the MIC when the contact failure occurs between the and the spring terminal 101 and the like. This retry operation is performed by raising the cassette compartment 60 halfway from the seated state of the tape cassette 1 as shown in FIG. 8, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, and slightly lifting the tape cassette 1 from the seated state as shown in FIG. , To restore the contacts.

FIGS. 9 to 11 correspond to FIGS. 6 to 8, respectively.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged view showing the vicinity of a positioning member 99 of the cassette compartment 60 corresponding to FIG. The state where the tape cassette 1 is seated is shown in FIG. In this state, if the communication state between the tape streamer drive 10 and the MIC 4 is not preferable, in order to restore the contacts, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9, the tape cassette 1 is lifted from the seated state. At this time, the terminal pin 7 and the spring terminal 101 are released from the temporary contact state by the rotation of the connector holder driving mechanism 72 supported by the shaft 102 at the same time as the tape cassette 1 floats.

For example, after shifting to the state shown in FIG. 9, the state again shifts to the state shown in FIG.
Then, the terminal pin 7 and the spring terminal 101 come into contact with each other. In other words, the reload operation for restoring the contacts is to reload the tape cassette 1 with the tape cassette 1 partially unloaded halfway, and the operation of sitting down from the partially unloaded state is called compartment half-down. . As the reloading of the tape cassette 1, the compartment half-down is repeatedly performed, for example, about five times continuously. That is, the number of seats in one reload is, for example, five. Reload, magnetic tape 3
Is executed in the unthreaded state, the state of being wound around the rotating drum is released, and the state is wound in the tape cassette 1.

As described above, when the compartment full down or the compartment half down is performed, the number of mounting and dismounting of the positioning member 99 and the positioning hole 42 becomes a number corresponding thereto as can be understood from FIGS. Therefore, the present invention counts the number of times that the compartment full down and the compartment half down are performed and stores the count in the MIC 4, so that the durability of the housing of the tape cassette 1 including the positioning hole 42 and the count value is counted. So that they can be related.

4. Next, the data structure of the MIC 4 provided in the tape cassette 1 will be described. FIG. 12 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of the structure of data stored in the MIC 4. This M
Fields FL1 to FL4 are set as the storage area of the IC as shown. In these fields FL1 to FL4, various information at the time of manufacturing the tape cassette, tape information at the time of initialization, information for each partition, and the like are written.

The field FL1 is a manufacture information (Manufacture Information), and is a manufacture part mainly storing various information at the time of manufacturing the tape cassette. The field FL2 is a memory management information, and is a drive initialization part mainly storing information at the time of initialization. The field FL3 is used as a volume tag, and stores basic management information of the entire tape cassette.

The field FL4 is a memory free pool area, in which management information can be additionally stored. In this memory free pool, various information is stored as the recording / reproducing operation progresses or as necessary. Note that one unit of data group stored in the memory free pool is referred to as a “cell”. First, according to the partitions formed on the magnetic tape 3, partition information cells # 0, # 1,... Serving as management information corresponding to each partition are sequentially written from the top of the memory free pool. That is, the partition information cells are formed as the same number of cells as the partitions formed on the magnetic tape 3.

From the rear end side of the memory free pool, a super high speed search map cell (Super High Speed Search Map cell) as map information for high speed search is provided.
p Cell) is written. Subsequently, user volume note cells and user partition note cells are written from the rear end side. The user volume note cell is information such as a comment input by the user regarding the entire tape cassette, and the user partition note cell is information such as a comment input by the user regarding each partition. Therefore, these are stored when the user instructs writing, and not all of the information is necessarily described. An intermediate area where these pieces of information are not stored is left as a memory free pool for later writing.

The manufacture information of the field FL1 has a structure as shown in FIG. 13, for example. First, in the manufacture information, information of a checksum for the data of the manufacture information is stored as a leading manufacture part checksum. The information of the manufacture part checksum is given when the cassette is manufactured.

Then, as the actual data constituting the manufacture part, a write protect byte count (MIC type) is converted from the MIC type (mic type).
t) are described. It should be noted that the “reserved” indicates an area reserved for future data storage. This is the same in the following description.

The MIC type (mic type) is data indicating the type of MIC actually provided in the tape cassette. MIC Manufacturing Date (mic manu)
The facture date indicates the date (and time) of manufacture of the MIC. The MIC manufacture line name indicates information on the name of the line that manufactured the MIC. MIC Manufacturing
The plant name (mic manufacture plant name) is MI
Information on the name of the factory that manufactured C is shown. The MIC manufacturer name (mic manufacturer name)
Information on the name of the MIC manufacturer is shown. MIC name (mi
c name) indicates information on the MIC vendor name.

The cassette manufacture date (ca
ssette manufacture date), cassette manufacture line name (cassette manufacture line nam)
e), cassette manufacturing plant name (cas
sette manufacture plant name), cassette manufacturer name (cassette manufacturer name),
In the cassette name, information on the cassette itself similar to the information on the MIC described above is described.

OEM customer name
ame) is OEM (Original Equipment Manufactu)
res) stores the information of the company name of the destination. Physical tape characterlistic ID (physical tape ch
As aracteristicID), information on physical characteristics of the magnetic tape 3, such as tape material, tape thickness, and tape length, is shown. Maximum clock frequency (ma
As the “ximum clock frequency”, information indicating the maximum clock frequency corresponding to the MIC is stored. The block size (Block size) indicates, for example, information on how many bytes of data can be transferred by one communication with the tape streamer drive 10 as a characteristic of the MIC. This information depends on the physical characteristics of the nonvolatile memory used as the MIC. M
As the IC capacity (mic capacity), the MI
The storage capacity information of C is shown.

Write protect top address (writ
The “e protect top address” is used to write-protect a required part of the MIC, and indicates the start address of the write-protected area. The write protect count indicates the number of bytes in the write protected area. That is, from the address specified by the write protect top address, an area occupied by the number of bytes indicated by the area of the write protect count is set as a write-protected area.

The signature (signature) 1 and the signature (signature 2) indicate copyright information.
Cartridge Serial Numbe
r), Manufacturer ID (Manufacturer ID), Secondary ID (Secondary ID), Cartridge Serial Number Checksum (Cartridge Serial Num)
ber Part Checksum), cartridge serial number C
RC (Cartridge Serial Number CRC) and scratch pad memory checksum (scratch pad memory che)
cksum), scratch pad memor
y) is, for example, information for authentication when the hand unit 60 searches for a desired tape cassette 1 when the tape cassette 1 is used in the library device 50 described above.

A mechanism error log (mechanism error log)
For example, “log)” indicates error information when a mechanism error occurs.

Subsequent to the mechanism error log shown in FIG. 13, a mechanism counter is stored as indicated by a field FL11. This mechanism counter (mechanism counter) is a mechanism counter checksum (mechanism counter).
check sum), followed by cassette compartment down count, cassette compartment half down count (casette
compartment half down count) is stored.

The cassette compartment down count indicates the number of times the tape cassette 1 has been seated in the cassette compartment 60. That is, a numerical value that is the sum of the compartment full down and the compartment half down is stored. Also, cassette compartment half down count
“count” stores the number of times the compartment half-down has been performed. This value is set to “0” at the time of shipping the tape cassette, and thereafter, the value is continuously counted up every time the user takes a seat in the cassette compartment 60. Also, for example, the magnetic tape 3 is formatted, and M
The management information stored in the IC 4 is retained even when initialized, and is stored as lifetime information since the tape cassette 1 was produced.

The last 11 drive list (last 11 driv)
e lists) stores the serial number of the tape streamer drive in which the tape cassette 1 has been loaded in the past.
The usage history of the tape cassette 1 is shown.

Next, the structure of the memory management information of the field FL2 in FIG. 12 will be described with reference to FIG. Memory management information must first have a drive initialization part checksum (driv
As “e Initialize part checksum”, information of a checksum for the data of the memory management information that is the drive initialization part is stored.

Then, as real data constituting the memory management information, the MIC logical format type (mic logical format type) to the free pool bottom address (Free Pool Bottom Address)
Information up to is described.

First, the ID number of the MIC logical format is stored as the MIC logical format type. As the MIC format, for example, in addition to the basic MIC format, there are various formats related to a firmware update tape MIC format, a reference tape MIC format, a cleaning cassette MIC format, and the like.
The ID number corresponding to the format is indicated.

In the absolute volume map pointer, a pointer indicating the head address of the area of the super high speed search map cell in FIG. 12 is arranged. The user volume note cell pointer is
12 shows a storage area in which a user can freely read and write data to and from the tape cassette via SCSI, that is, a start address of a user volume note cell shown in FIG. User partition note cell pointer (user p
“artition note cell pointer” indicates a storage area in which a user can freely read and write data to each partition via SCSI, that is, a start address of a user partition note cell in FIG. A plurality of user partition note cells may be stored. The user partition note cell pointer indicates the start address of the first cell among the plurality of user partition note cells.

The partition information cell pointer is
13 illustrates a start address of the partition information cell # 0 in FIG. The partition information to be written into the memory free pool is formed by the number of partitions formed on the magnetic tape 3, but all the partition information cells # 0 to #N are connected by a pointer by a link structure. Have been. That is, the partition information cell pointer is set as a route indicating the address of the partition # 0, and the pointers of the subsequent partition information cells are arranged in the immediately preceding partition information cell.

As described above, each data position in the field FL4 is managed by each pointer (absolute volume map pointer, user volume note cell pointer, user partition note cell pointer, partition information cell pointer).

The volume attribute flag (Volume
Attribute Flags) are flags for providing a logical write-protect tab for the MIC. That is, the contents indicated by the MIC header flag are write permission / inhibition of the manufacture part or write permission / inhibition of parts other than the manufacture part.

The free pool top address (Free Pool
Top Address and Free Pool Bottom Address (Free
"Pool Bottom Address" indicates the start address and end address of the memory free pool at that time in the field FL2. Since the area as the memory free pool changes according to writing or erasing of partition information, user partition notes, or the like, the free pool top address and the free pool bottom address are updated accordingly.

Next, the structure of the volume tag in the field FL3 in FIG. 12 will be described with reference to FIG. At the head of the volume tag, as a volume information checksum, information of a checksum with respect to data of volume information in which basic management information of the entire tape cassette is stored is stored. In addition, the Accumulative Partition Information Checksum
As sum), checksum information for Accumulative Partition Information data in which history information from the tape cassette manufacturing time is stored is stored.

The volume note checksum (Volume n
ote checksum), volume note (Volume note), followed by cartridge serial number (Cartridge Seri).
al Number) is, for example, 3 based on the ASCII code.
A serial number that is two-character information is stored. The manufacturer ID (Manufacturer ID)
The code number of the manufacturer of the tape cassette 1 is stored as the manufacturer identifier. Secondary ID (Second
ary ID) is a secondary identifier corresponding to the type of the tape cassette 1, and stores, for example, tape attribute information as a code value. Cartridge Serial Number Part Checksum
Is the checksum information of the cartridge serial number, the manufacture ID, and the secondary ID.
Specific Volume Tag
Each of the areas 1 to 13 is configured as a reserve, for example.

Next, the cells stored in the field FL4 shown in FIG. 12 will be described. As described above, the field FL4 stores partition information cells, user partition note cells, and the like.
FIG. 16 shows the structure of each of these cells. One cell includes link information as shown in FIG.
It is formed from data of n bytes (depending on the cell type).

The link information is provided in each cell, and its structure is as shown in FIG. First, a cell checksum is provided as a checksum for data in a cell. The cell size is indicated as the cell size.

The previous cell pointer (previous cell pointer)
pointer) and next cell point
er) is actual linkage data (data for constructing a link structure). When a plurality of cells of the same type are linked, the preceding and succeeding cells are designated by the previous cell pointer and the nect cell pointer.

The cells having such a structure include a partition information cell, a super high speed search map cell, a user volume note cell, and a user partition note cell. The cell size of the partition information cell is a fixed value. For other cells, the cell size has a variable value.

5. Structure of Tape Cassette Corresponding to Data Format As described above, in the present embodiment, the data format recorded on the magnetic tape is AIT-1,
Two AIT-2 formats are standardized. The tape cassette 1 of the present embodiment corresponding to this
As a matter of fact, the tape cassette is assumed to correspond to the housing of the tape cassette as follows.
A write protect hole corresponding to the IT format is formed. In addition, an identification hole for discriminating between a data storage use and another use, an identification hole for discriminating from a cleaning cassette, and the like are also formed. That is, various identification holes are formed according to various types (types) of the tape cassette. These identification holes are detected by the hole detection mechanism shown in FIG.

FIG. 17A shows the lower side of the housing of a tape cassette for AIT1 (hereinafter also referred to as AIT-1 cassette). Necessary identification holes are formed on the lower surface side of the housing. In this figure, a data storage identification hole 103 is formed on the lower right side of the lower surface of the housing (immediately above the terminal pins 7A to 7E). The tape cassette 1 of the present embodiment has the same outer shape as the 8 mm video cassette. However, when the data storage identification hole 103 is formed and the tape cassette 1 is open, the tape cassette 1 It is assumed to be for storage.

Further, at the lower left side of the lower surface of the housing in FIG.
A video write protect hole 105 and an AIT-1 write protect hole 106 are located. The cleaning cassette identification hole 104 is for determining whether or not the tape cassette is a cleaning cassette. If the tape cassette is formed open, it is a cleaning cassette, and if it is closed, it is not a cleaning cassette. become. Therefore, in the case of the AIT-1 cassette, the cleaning cassette identification hole 104 is closed. 8mm video write-protect hole 10
Reference numeral 5 is for determining whether or not write protection indicating that recording is prohibited is set as the 8 mm video cassette. In the case of this AIT-1 cassette, a write protect hole 10 for 8 mm video is used.
5 is defined as being open.

Write protect hole 106 for AIT-1
Is a hole for determining whether or not write protection is set as the AIT-1 cassette. FIG.
7B is a perspective view of the label surface 9 of the AIT-1 cassette.
Is shown as the front. In the case of the AIT-1 cassette, the write-protect hole 106 for AIT-1 is used.
Is opened and closed in conjunction with an operation on the write protect switch 110 shown in FIG. In this case, by operating the operation claw 110a of the write protect switch 110 so as to slide in the horizontal direction, the AIT-1 write protect hole 106 is formed.
Can be opened or closed. If the AIT-1 write protection hole 106 is open, the drive is determined to be write protected, and if it is closed, the write protection is determined to be released (recordable) and determined by the drive.

Positioning holes 42, 42, positioning hole 108
Although not an identification hole, it is a hole for positioning so that a certain fixed state can be obtained at the time of loading by inserting positioning pins as described later when the tape cassette is loaded.

FIG. 18A shows the lower surface of the casing of the tape cassette for AIT-2 (hereinafter, also referred to as AIT-2 cassette). In the perspective view of FIG. 18B, the label surface 9 of the AIT-2 cassette is shown as the front. In these figures, the same parts as those in FIGS. 17A and 17B are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 18A, in the AIT-2 cassette, the data storage identification hole 103 is formed similarly to the AIT-1 cassette, so that the tape cassette is used for data storage. Is determined on the drive side.

On the lower left side of the lower surface of the housing, in addition to the cleaning cassette identification hole 104, the 8 mm video write protect hole 105, and the AIT-1 write protect hole 106, an AIT-2 write protect hole 107 is provided. To be located.

Also in the AIT-2 cassette, the cleaning cassette identification hole 104 is closed, and the 8 mm video write protection hole 105 is opened. Also,
It is defined that the AIT-1 write protect hole 106 is formed as an open.

The AIT-2 write protect hole 107 is provided to determine whether or not write protection is set as the AIT-2 cassette. The write protect switch 1 shown in FIG.
The door 10 is opened and closed in conjunction with an operation on the dial 10. However, the write protect switch 110 of the AIT-2 cassette is provided with the write protect hole 107 for the AIT-2.
The operation is performed by sliding the operation claw 110a in the vertical direction in the figure due to the positional relationship with the above. As a result, the AIT-2 write protect hole 107 is opened or closed. In this case, AIT-
If the second write protect hole 107 is open, the write protection is applied, and if it is closed, the write protection is determined to be released and determined by the drive.

FIG. 19 shows the write protect switch 110 and AIT-2 in the AIT-2 cassette.
An example of an opening / closing interlocking mechanism of the write protect hole 107 is shown. This figure shows a sectional view of the tape cassette housing at the position of the write protect switch 110 under the position shown in FIG. The write protect switch 110 is formed of, for example, resin.

As shown in FIG. 19A, the write protect switch 110 includes a slide member 120 that slides up and down by operating the operation claw 110a.
A main body structure is formed from the projection support member 123 formed so as to be integrally attached to the slide member 120. And the claw part 121 formed with some elasticity is provided with respect to the slide member 120. A hole filling projection 122 having a shape corresponding to the AIT-2 write-protect hole 107 is formed at the lower protruding end of the projection support member 123.

As shown in FIG. 19A, the operating claw 1
Under the state where 10a is pulled up, the claw portion 121 is engaged with the claw receiving portion 131, so that the hole filling protrusion 122 is housed inside the housing of the tape cassette. The state is fixedly maintained, and a state of not fitting into the AIT-2 write-protect hole 107 is obtained. In other words, the AIT-2 write-protect hole 10
7 is open.

On the other hand, when the operation claw 110a is pulled down as shown in FIG. 19 (b), the hole filling projection 122 is fitted into the AIT-2 write protect hole 107 so as to fit it. Is filled. That is, the AIT-2 write-protect hole 107 is closed. At this time, the claw portion 121 is engaged with the claw receiving portion 132 so that the closed state is fixedly maintained. In this way, AI
The T-2 write protect hole 107 is opened / closed in conjunction with the operation of the write protect switch 110.
One of the closed states will be obtained.

As described above, various write-protect holes are formed in the tape cassette 1. As described above, as the compartment full down and the compartment half down are repeated, the positioning members 99 and the positioning holes 42 are formed. The number of times of desorption will increase. As a result, if the positioning hole 42 is deformed due to, for example, shaving of the positioning hole 42, the positioning accuracy decreases, and the detection accuracy of the write protect hole also decreases. In addition, not only can the write protect hole be detected, but also loading can not be performed smoothly, magnetic tape running can be hindered, or the tape path can be disturbed to accurately read or write to the magnetic tape. May disappear. 9 and FIG.
0, as shown in FIG. 11, the terminal pin 7 and the spring terminal 101 of the MIC 4 may be physically changed such as being scraped due to the compartment full down and the compartment half down, and may cause a communication failure.

Therefore, in the present invention, the MIC is provided with a mechanism counter so that the number of times the tape cassette 1 is seated can be ascertained. Therefore, the number of times of seating and the physical change of the positioning hole 42 due to the number of times of seating (for example, scraping near the opening) are made to correspond to each other, and the number of times the tape cassette 1 is physically used is defined based on the causal relationship. Will be able to do it. Similarly, the number of times of seating and the physical change of the contact portion between the terminal pin 7 of the MIC 4 and the spring terminal 101 are made to correspond to each other so that, for example, the physical number of times the MIC 4 can be used can be defined based on the causal relationship. Become.

6. Update of Mechanism Counter FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process transition of the system controller 15 when counting the number of times the tape cassette 1 is seated. In this figure,
“Wa” is a counter that is updated (counted up) in response to compartment full down, and “Wb” is a counter that is updated in response to compartment half down, for example, a count process in a work area such as the S-RAM 24. Is performed. When the tape cassette 1 is inserted and loaded from outside the tape streamer drive 10 (S001), the counter Wa is updated (S001).
002), and proceeds to MIC check (S00)
3). The MIC check is a process of determining whether or not communication with the MIC 4 of the tape cassette 1 loaded in the tape streamer drive 10 can be performed. If the result of the MIC check is “OK” (S004), the operation shifts to the normal operation (S007).

If the result of the MIC check is "NG", reloading is performed assuming that communication with the MIC 4 has not been successfully performed (S005). That is, the compartment half-down is executed in order to restore contact. Then, the counter Wb is updated (counted up) by the number of times the compartment half-down is performed (S006), and the MIC check is performed again (S0).
03). When the reload is performed as described above and the result of the MIC check is “OK”, the process proceeds to step S007. MIC check is "NG" even after reloading
, The reload will be continued.
However, if the result of the MIC check does not become “OK” even if the reloading is repeated a predetermined number of times, the reloading is aborted, and the necessary processing is performed when communication with the MIC cannot be performed, although not shown. I do.

When the process proceeds to step S007 and shifts to the normal operation state, it is determined whether an unload request from the host computer 40 is detected (S00).
8). If it is determined that an unload request has been detected, the mechanism counter FL11 is read from the MIC 4 into the S-RAM 24 (S009). And SR
The AM 24 updates the mechanism counter FL11 (S010). In the updating process, the cassette compartment down count is updated by the sum of the counter Wa and the counter Wb, and the cassette compartment half down count is updated by the value of the counter Wb.
Then, the mechanism counter FL11 is written into the MIC 4 (S011), and the tape cassette 1 is unloaded (S012).

As described above, since the cassette compartment down count and the cassette compartment half down count stored in the MIC 4 can be updated, the tape cassette can be updated by referring to the mechanism counter stored in the MIC 4. 1 and the physical change of the housing of the tape cassette 1 such as the positioning hole 42, or the terminal pin 7 of the MIC 4.
Can be associated with the physical change of the contact point.

Although the above embodiment has been described by taking as an example a system corresponding to the tape cassette 1 on which a contact type memory is mounted, the present invention relates to a non-contact type remote controller as shown in FIG. The present invention is also applicable to a system corresponding to the tape cassette 1 in which the memory chip 204 is built. FIG.
The tape streamer drive 10A that can use the tape cassette shown in FIG. 1 is configured as shown in FIG. That is, communication with the remote memory chip 204 is performed by the SCSI buffer controller 2
6. This is performed via the remote memory interface 30.

FIG. 23 shows the internal configuration of the remote memory chip 204. For example, the remote memory chip 204 is a semiconductor IC as shown in FIG.
a, RF processing unit 204b, controller 204c, EE
It has a P-ROM 204d. For example, such a remote memory chip 204 is mounted on a printed circuit board fixed inside the tape cassette 1, and an antenna 205 is formed by a copper foil portion on the printed circuit board.

The remote memory chip 204 is configured to receive power supply from outside in a non-contact manner. Communication with the tape streamer drive 10A is, for example, 13M
Although a carrier wave in the Hz band is used, a radio wave from the tape streamer drive 10A is received by the antenna 205,
The power circuit 204a converts a 13 MHz band carrier into DC power. Then, the DC power is used as an operation power source for RF
Processing unit 204b, controller 204c, EEP-RO
M204d.

The RF processing unit 204b demodulates received information and modulates information to be transmitted. Controller 204
c controls execution of decoding of a signal received from the RF processing unit 204b and processing according to the decoded information (command), for example, writing / reading processing to / from the EEP-ROM 204d. That is, the remote memory chip 204 is turned on by receiving a radio wave from the tape streamer drive 10A, and the controller 204c executes a process instructed by a command superimposed on the carrier wave, and executes the processing instructed by the command superimposed on the carrier wave.
Manage your data.

This remote memory interface 30
24 is shown in FIG. Data interface 31
Performs data exchange with the system controller 15. As described later, the remote memory chip 20
4 is performed in the form of a command from the device side and an acknowledgment from the remote memory chip 204 corresponding to the command.
5 issues a command to the remote memory chip 204, the data interface 31 receives command data and a clock from the SCSI buffer controller 26. The data interface 31 transmits command data based on the clock to the RF interface 3.
Feed to 2. The data interface 31 is RF
The carrier frequency CR (13
MHz).

The RF interface 32 has a command (transmission data) WS amplitude-modulated (100 KHz), superimposed on the carrier frequency CR, amplifies the modulated signal, and applies the RF-modulated signal to the antenna 33.
a is formed. The command data is wirelessly transmitted from the antenna 33 to the antenna 205 in the tape cassette 1 by the RF modulation / amplification circuit 32a. On the tape cassette 1 side, according to the configuration described with reference to FIG. 23, the command data is received by the antenna 205 to be in a power-on state, and the controller 204c operates according to the content specified by the command. For example, the data transmitted together with the write command is stored in the EEP-ROM 204.
Write to d.

When a command is issued from the remote memory interface 30 in this manner, the remote memory chip 204 issues an acknowledge corresponding to the command. That is, the controller 204c of the remote memory chip 204 modulates and amplifies the data as the acknowledgment by the RF processing unit 204b,
Output from When such an acknowledgment is transmitted and received by the antenna 33, the received signal is R
After being rectified by the rectifier circuit 32b of the F interface 32, it is demodulated as data by the comparator 32c. Then, the data is supplied from the data interface 31 to the system controller 15. For example, system controller 1
5 issues a read command to the remote memory chip 204, the remote memory chip 204 transmits the read command along with the acknowledgment code corresponding to the read command.
The data read from the ROM 204d is transmitted.
Then, the acknowledgment code and the read data are received and demodulated by the remote memory interface 30 and supplied to the system controller 15.

Such a remote memory chip 204
In the case of the tape cassette 1 provided with the above, there is almost no problem that the contact portion is deteriorated. However, when the compartment full down is performed, or when the compartment half down is performed, a burden is imposed on the positioning mechanism. Similarly to the above, a mechanism counter is provided in the remote memory chip 204, and the number of seats of the tape cassette 1 is stored. Thus, the number of times the tape cassette 1 can be physically used can be defined.

It is known that the tape cassette 1 is loaded in the tape streamer drive 10 and is not ejected, but performs an operation called load / unload. The operation is called winding the tape 3 (Unthread) or winding the magnetic tape 3 around the rotary head 11 (Thread).
In this case, the tape cassette 1 does not move up and down in the tape streamer drive 10 by the cassette compartment 60 as shown in FIGS. Therefore, according to the present invention, the tape cassette 1 is operated by the cassette compartment 60 without storing the operation information for such an operation, so that an external load is applied to the housing and a physical change ( Operation information for an object that causes shaving or the like.

[0103]

As described above, the tape drive device of the present invention counts the number of times the tape cassette has been seated at a proper position by, for example, the operation of the cassette compartment, and uses the counted value to calculate the number of times the tape cassette has been seated. Memory (MI
The seating frequency information of C) can be updated. Therefore, the MI of the tape cassette used was
The number of times the tape cassette can be used can be defined based on the causal relationship between the seating frequency information obtained from C and physical changes such as positioning holes formed in the housing of the tape cassette. Similarly, for the contact portion connecting the memory and the tape drive device, the physical life of the memory can be defined based on the causal relationship between the physical change and the seating frequency information.
Further, when any operation failure occurs in the tape drive device, the cause of the operation failure can be specified by referring to the seating frequency information of the tape cassette currently used.

Further, as the recording medium of the present invention, information on the number of times of sitting is stored in a memory (MIC). Therefore,
Even when the recording medium is used separately from the tape drive device, the number of times of seating, based on the physical change of the positioning hole and the contact portion of the memory,
It is possible to obtain a means for identifying the cause of the operation failure that has occurred in the tape drive device, and there is an advantage that the cause of the operation failure can be efficiently investigated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a tape streamer drive equipped with a contact memory according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view schematically showing an internal structure of a tape cassette on which the contact type memory according to the embodiment is mounted.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of the tape cassette according to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of a cassette compartment.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a configuration of a cassette compartment.

FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating the operation of the cassette compartment.

FIG. 7 is a plan view for explaining the operation of the cassette compartment.

FIG. 8 is a plan view for explaining the operation of the cassette compartment.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining a positional relationship during operation of a positioning member of the cassette compartment and a positioning hole of the tape cassette.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship between a positioning member of the cassette compartment and a positioning hole of the tape cassette during operation.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship between a positioning member of the cassette compartment and a positioning hole of the tape cassette during operation.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a data structure of an MIC according to the embodiment;

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of MIC manufacture information according to the embodiment;

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of memory management information of the MIC according to the embodiment;

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of a volume tag of the MIC according to the embodiment;

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of the cell structure of the MIC according to the embodiment;

17A and 17B are a plan view and a perspective view showing the appearance of the AIT-1 cassette.

FIGS. 18A and 18B are a plan view and a perspective view showing an appearance of the AIT-2 cassette.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view showing an opening / closing operation of a write protect hole in the AIT-2 cassette.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a process transition of the system controller when the mechanism counter is updated.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a tape cassette on which the non-contact type memory according to the embodiment is mounted.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a tape streamer drive equipped with the non-contact type memory according to the embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a non-contact type memory (remote memory chip).

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a remote memory interface.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 1 tape cassette, 3 magnetic tape, 4 MIC (contact type), 10 tape streamer drive, 11 rotating drum, 12A, 12B recording head, 13A, 13
B, 13C reproduction head, 15 system controller, 16 servo controller, 17 mechanical driver,
19 RF processing unit, 20 SCSI interface,
21 compression / expansion circuit, 22 IF controller / EC
C formatter, 23 buffer memory, 26 SCS
I buffer controller, 29 drive information memory, 30 remote memory interface, 33 antenna, 40 host computer, 60 cassette compartment, 204 remote memory chip, 20
5 Antenna

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Osamu Nakamura, Inventor 6-35, Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Inside Sony Corporation (72) Inventor Ansho Kano, 6-35, Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo (72) Katsumi Maekawa, Inventor Katsumi Maekawa 6-7-35 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Sony Corporation (72) Inventor Yoshihisa Takayama 6-35, Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Soniー Inc. F term (reference) 5D101 AB11 AC11 CD03 CD06 CD10 CE06 CM03 JA01

Claims (2)

[Claims] When a tape cassette containing a magnetic tape is loaded, tape drive means capable of running the magnetic tape and recording or reproducing information on or from the magnetic tape. When a memory for recording management information for managing recording or reproduction of the tape cassette on the magnetic tape is provided, a required communication process is performed on the memory to read or write the management information. Memory drive means capable of detecting the number of times the tape cassette has been seated at a predetermined position from the memory; and Counting means for counting the number of seating operations performed until the Against, the tape drive apparatus being characterized in that and a seating information updating means adapted to update said seating count information by adding the counted number of the seating operation in the counting means. 2. A recording medium comprising: a tape cassette containing a magnetic tape; and a memory provided in the tape cassette and recording management information for managing recording or reproduction on the magnetic tape. A recording medium, wherein the number of seating operations executed when the recording medium is used in a tape drive device is recorded in a memory.