Optical disc handling for standard slim drive
A media library appliance comprises optical disc handling robotics developed for dual standard slim drives in a vertical orientation. The disc handling robotics comprise a disc transfer assembly for transferring discs to and from a rotatable circular carousel surrounding the optical drives. Each slim drive resides in a separate field-replaceable unit (“FRU”) that can be replaced by a customer in the field without powering down the appliance. The FRU includes various features that allow accurate 3-axis alignment and registration of the optical drive within the appliance.
1. A rack mountable media library appliance comprising:
dual field-replaceable units, each field-replaceable unit housing a standard optical slim drive in a vertical orientation;
a rotatable circular disc carousel for storing a plurality of optical discs, the rotatable disc carousel rotating around the dual field-replaceable units; and
a disc transfer assembly comprising two sides, each side corresponding to a respective one of the drives, each side comprising a pusher arm to push on a trailing outer edge of a disc to transfer the disc at least partly into the respective drive.
2. The media library appliance of claim 1 , wherein each of the dual field-replaceable units are replaceable without powering off the media library appliance.
3. The media library appliance of claim 1 , wherein the pusher arm slides laterally on a track.
4. The media library appliance of claim 1 , wherein the pusher arm only contacts the disc on the outer edge.
5. The media library appliance of claim 4 , wherein the pusher arm has a curved contact surface corresponding to the outer edge of the disc.
6. The media library appliance of claim 1 , wherein the media library appliance has a size of five rack mount units.
7. The media library appliance of claim 1 , wherein each side of the disc transfer assembly further comprises a moveable knife, wherein the movement of the knife into an active position pushes a disc further into the respective drive during a disc loading operation.
8. The media library appliance of claim 7 , wherein the moveable knife in the active position at least partially blocks an opening of the respective drive, thereby preventing unloading of a disc from the respective drive or preventing attempted loading of another disc when the respective drive is occupied.
9. The media library appliance of claim 7 , wherein the movement of the knife into an active position during a disc unloading operation pushes a disc ejected from the respective drive away from the drive and into the carousel.
10. The media library appliance of claim 1 , wherein a bottom of the disc transfer assembly is funnel-shaped to assist with smooth transfers of discs from a respective drive into the disc carousel.
11. The media library appliance of claim 1 , wherein each of the dual field-replaceable units comprise alignment features for accurate three-axis alignment and registration of the optical slim drive within the appliance.
12. The media library appliance of claim 1 , wherein each of the dual field-replaceable units slides vertically into and out of the appliance.
13. The media library appliance of claim 1 , wherein each of the dual field-replaceable units are latched into the appliance.
14. The media library appliance of claim 13 , wherein the pusher arm of the disc transfer assembly blocks access to a latch release button to prevent accidental replacement of a functional field-replaceable unit.
15. The media library appliance of claim 13 , wherein a latch release button extends partially through an opening in a handle of a field-replaceable unit, and responsive to the latch release button being pushed with one or more fingers, the field-replaceable unit is unlatched and able to be lifted via the handle.
16. A media library appliance comprising:
dual field-replaceable units, each field-replaceable unit housing a standard optical slim drive in a vertical orientation;
a means for storing a plurality of optical discs, the means for storing a plurality of optical discs rotating around the dual field-replaceable units; and
a disc transfer means comprising two sides, each side corresponding to a respective one of the drives, each side comprising a means to push on a trailing outer edge of a disc to transfer the disc at least partly into the respective drive.
17. The media library appliance of claim 16 , wherein the disc transfer means further comprises a means for exerting a lateral force to push the disc further into the respective drive and partially block an opening to the respective drive to prevent unloading of a disc from the respective drive or to prevent attempted loading of another disc when the respective drive is occupied.
18. The media library appliance of claim 16 , wherein a bottom of the disc transfer means is funnel-shaped to assist with smooth transfers of discs from a respective drive into the means for storing the plurality of optical discs.