Patent ID: 6045041
Filing Date: 2000-04-04
Classification: G06K

Abstract:
A cassette managing system for managing cassettes for recording image and/or sound information, comprising:cassette accommodating means for accommodating a cassette attached at a card attaching position thereof to an integrated circuit card having an information storage area, said cassette accommodating means having a read/write device for reading data from said integrated circuit card and for writing data to said integrated circuit card without touching said integrated circuit card while said cassette is accommodated in said cassette accommodating means;a control server for generating system control data based on the data read from said integrated circuit card by said read/write device, said system control data including cassette managing data read from said integrated circuit card and identification data for identifying said cassette accommodating means in which said cassette is accommodated, wherein said cassette managing data and said identification data are separately controlled to allow a change of said cassette accommodating means in which said cassettes are accommodated and, upon receiving a request for processing said cassette accommodated in said cassette accommodating means, for generating a control directive from said system control data and said request for processing and outputting said control directive;image and/or sound information input/output means for reproducing image and/or sound information from said cassette and for recording image and/or sound information onto said cassette according to said control directive when said cassette is set for said reproducing and/or recording; anda robotics unit for selecting said cassette according to said control directive and moving the selected cassette to one of said cassette accommodating means and said image and/or sound information input/output means.