Method and apparatus to detect presence of or a size of a data cartridge

1. A cartridge-receiving device for use in a media storage system, comprising:

a frame assembly defining a chamber to receive a data cartridge, wherein the frame assembly is movable in the media storage system between different positions in the media storage system;

a slidably mounted plunge mechanism slidable to retrieve the data cartridge into the chamber from a storage magazine in the media storage system;

a cartridge-referencing member mounted inside the chamber, said cartridge-referencing member resiliently displaceable by the data cartridge received in the chamber; and

a sensor operatively associated with said cartridge-referencing member, said sensor detecting the data cartridge in the chamber based on the displacement of said cartridge-referencing member.

2. The cartridge-receiving device of claim 1 , wherein said sensor detects a size of the data cartridge based on the displacement of said cartridge-referencing member.

3. The, cartridge-receiving device of claim 1 , wherein said cartridge-referencing member retains said received data cartridge in a registration position within the cartridge-receiving device.

4. The cartridge-receiving device of claim 1 , further comprising a flag mounted to said cartridge-referencing member, said flag indicating to said sensor the displacement of said cartridge-referencing member.

5. The cartridge-receiving device of claim 1 , further comprising a control system operatively associated with said sensor, said control system determining a site of the data cartridge based on the displacement of said cartridge-referencing member.

6. The cartridge-receiving device of claim 1 , wherein said sensor is an optical switch.

7. The cartridge-receiving device of claim 1 , wherein said sensor is a mechanical switch.

8. A method comprising:

moving a cartridge-receiving device between a first position and a second position in a media storage system to position the cartridge-receiving device adjacent a storage magazine;

receiving a data cartridge from the storage magazine into the cartridge-receiving device;

displacing a cartridge-referencing member when the data cartridge is received within the cartridge-receiving device, the displacement of the cartridge-referencing member indicating a size of the data cartridge;

sensing, with a sensor, movement of the cartridge-referencing member due to displacement of the cartridge-referencing member by the data cartridge; and

automatically determining the size of the data cartridge received within the cartridge receiving device based on output of the sensor.

9. A method for detecting mixed media in a cartridge-receiving device, comprising:

receiving a data cartridge within the cartridge-receiving device provided in a media storage system having a cartridge-engaging assembly for retrieving the data cartridge from a storage magazine and moving the data cartridge to a read/write device, the cartridge-receiving device being one of the cartridge-engaging assembly, storage magazine, and read/write device;

displacing a flag when the data cartridge is received within the cartridge-receiving device, the displacement of the flag indicating a size of the data cartridge;

sensing, with a sensor, movement of the flag due to displacement of the flag when the data cartridge is received within the cartridge-receiving device; and

automatically determining the size of the data cartridge received within the cartridge receiving device based on output of the sensor.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising retaining the data cartridge in a registration position within the cartridge-receiving device before determining the size of the data cartridge.

11. A media storage system comprising:

a storage magazine containing at least one data cartridge;

a read/write device; and

a cartridge-engaging assembly separate from the storage magazine, the cartridge-engaging assembly to retrieve the data cartridge from the storage magazine into a chamber of the cartridge-engaging assembly, the cartridge-engaging assembly moveable in the media storage system from a position adjacent the storage magazine to another position adjacent the read/write device to load the data cartridge into the read/write device, the cartridge-engaging assembly comprising:

a media-detection mechanism having a sensor to detect a size of the data cartridge received in the chamber of the cartridge-engaging assembly, the media-detection mechanism further comprises a cartridge-referencing member mounted to the cartridge-engaging assembly, the cartridge-referencing member resiliently displaceable by the data cartridge received in the chamber, wherein the sensor is operatively associated with the cartridge-referencing member and the sensor detects the size of the data cartridge based on the displacement of the cartridge-referencing member.

12. The cartridge receiving device media storage system of claim 11 , further comprising an actuator mechanism to move the cartridge-engaging assembly in the media storage system.

13. The media storage system of claim 11 , wherein the sensor detects a first size of the data cartridge based on a first displacement of the cartridge-referencing member, and the sensor detects a second size of the data cartridge based on a second displacement of the cartridge-referencing member.

14. The media storage system of claim 11 , wherein the media-detection mechanism is adapted to emit light into the chamber, and the sensor detects light reflected train a surface of the data cartridge, the reflected light indicative of the size of the data cartridge.

15. The cartridge-receiving device of claim 1 , wherein the plunge mechanism is inside the chamber.

16. The cartridge-receiving device of claim 1 , wherein the frame assembly is separate from the storage magazine in the media storage system.