Cassette autochanger

Abstract: A cassette autochanger for automatically supplying and selectively reproducing a plurality of cassettes (C) having programs recorded therein comprises a plurality of recording/reproducing devices (3), a plurality of cassette storage locations (5, 6), a cassette transporter (4, 9) for transporting the cassettes (C) between the locations (5, 6) and the devices (3), a first detector (23) for detecting any one of the programs that is recorded in one only of the cassettes (C), a second detector (23) for detecting two of the devices (3) which are available for use, and a dubbing controller (24) for controlling the two detected devices (3) so that such one of the programs is automatically dubbed on to another cassette (C) using the two detected devices (3). A cassette autochanger system may comprise two cassette autochangers (41A, 41B), the second autochanger (41B) forming a back-up which takes over reproduction using an up-dated reproduction list derived from the first autochanger (41A) in the event of the first autochanger (41A) becoming out of order.

Description: This invention relates to cassette autochangers. Cassette autochangers are used, for example, in television broadcasting stations for storing programmes such as commercial messages and advertisements, and television programmes, and for selecting in a required order a sequence of the stored programmes for reproduction and transmission. Figure 1 shows an automatic cassette supplying and reproducing apparatus or cassette autochanger as disclosed in our UK patent specification GB-A-2 190 233. The cassette autochanger comprises an upright, rectangular housing 1 including a video tape recorder (VTR) console 2 having a plurality of reproducing/recording devices 3, such as VTRs 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D capable of reproduction and recording of magnetic video tape cassettes (C), stacked vertically one above the other at one side of the housing 1. A cassette delivery mechanism 4 is provided to deliver to the VTR console 2, the video tape cassettes C selected from a large number of cassette storage locations 5A, 5B, 5C, ...., 5Z and 6A, 6B, 6C .... formed by bins arrayed in orthogonally related directions, that is in vertical stacks arranged horizontally in succession, in front and rear banks 7 and 8. Each of the cassette storage bins in the banks 7 and 8 can store a single cassette C therein. Further, as is apparent from Figure 1, the stacks of cassette storage bins in the front and rear banks 7 and 8 are spaced apart to provide an aisle therebetween which accommodates a cassette transporting mechanism 9. The VTRs 3 are of a side-loading type, so each is capable of receiving a cassette C at the side of the respective VTR 3 facing the cassette delivery mechanism 4, from the cassette transporting mechanism 9. The cassette transporting mechanism 9 comprises fixed upper and lower guide rails 10A and 10B extending horizontally along the aisle, and a movable guide rail 10C extending vertically in the aisle between the front and rear banks 7 and 8, and mounted at its upper and lower ends on the rails 10A and 10B, for movements horizontally in the directions indicated by arrows X-X in Figure 1. A cassette feeder or carriage 11 is mounted on the guide rail 10C for movements vertically as indicated by arrows Y-Y in Figure 1. The cassette carriage 11 has openings 11A and 11B for receiving respective cassettes C. Both the guide rail 10C and the carriage 11 are moved in their respective directions by a drive mechanism (not illustrated). The housing 1 also includes a cassette in-port 12 and a cassette out-port 13. In operation of this cassette autochanger, a selected cassette C, for example a cassette C1, is removed by the cassette carriage 11 from its respective cassette storage location 6C, whereupon the cassette carriage 11 is moved vertically as needed in the direction of the arrows Y-Y relative to the vertical guide rail 10C which, in turn, is moved horizontally in the direction of the arrows X-X so as to register with the side-loading port or opening of a selected one of the VTRs 3, and the transported cassette C1 is then transferred from the cassette carriage 11 through the cassette delivery mechanism 4 into the selected VTR 3 for reproducing or recording a signal on the tape in the selected cassette C1. After the desired recording or reproducing operation has been performed, the used cassette C1 is returned through the cassette delivery mechanism 4 to the cassette carriage 11 on the vertical guide rail 10C which is then moved horizontally in the direction of the arrows X-X, whereupon the cassette carriage 11 is moved vertically in the direction of the arrows Y-Y for registering the cassette carriage 11 with the cassette storage bin into which the used cassette C1 is to be returned. This may or may not be the cassette storage bin 5C from which the cassette C1 was originally selected. Then, the returned cassette C1 is transferred from the cassette carriage 11 to the cassette storage bin with which it is registered. When such a known cassette autochanger is used in a broadcasting station to select and transmit programmes comprising commercial messages or advertisements and television programmes, there is provided a system controller which maintains a reproduction list to which additions can be made and from which deletions can be made by operation of a keyboard. The reproduction list is primarily a listing of the programmes to be reproduced by the cassette autochanger and the order of reproduction. Suppose then that a segment of the reproduction list consists of a sequence of programmes (identified CM) as follows: CM001 CM002 CM003 CM004 CM002 Until now there have been two ways in which programmes have generally been recorded in the cassettes in such a cassette autochanger. In the one cassette for one programme recording system, each programme is recorded in a respective single cassette. For such a system the above reproduction list presents no problems because the respective cassettes for the first four programmes CM001, CM002, CM003 and CM004 can be selected in sequence and brought to the VTRs for reproduction in the required sequence. At least by the time reproduction of one programme approaches its end, the cassette with the next programme to be reproduced is in a stand-by condition in another VTR 3. The cassette for the programme CM002 is then reselected. This may involve retrieval from a cassette storage bin if the cassette has been returned after the first reproduction, or alternatively, if the time durations of the intervening programmes are short, the cassette may have been left in a VTR 3 after the first reproduction ready for the second. However, this system does have the serious problems that it is very wasteful of recording capacity in the cassettes, and that the number of programmes available for automatic reproduction is restricted to the number of cassette storage bins in the cassette autochanger. As an alternative, therefore, the multisegment recording system is used. In this system, a plurality of programmes are recorded in each cassette, so reducing waste of recording capacity and substantially increasing the number of programmes that can be made available. However, with this system also, there are serious problem. Thus, in an individual cassette, programmes are recorded successively on the magnetic tape with intervals between adjacent programmes. Suppose then that in the above example the programmes CM001, CM002 and CM003 happen to be recorded in the same cassette. Even if the programmes happen to be recorded on the tape in the order CM001, CM002, CM003 their successive reproduction without gaps between programmes will be impossible. According to the present invention there is provided a cassette autochanger for automatically supplying and selectively reproducing a plurality of cassettes having programmes recorded on recording media thereof, the cassette autochanger comprising: a plurality of reproducing/recording means; a cassette housing means having a plurality of cassette storage locations; cassette transporting means for selectively transporting said cassettes between said cassette storage locations and said reproducing/recording means; and control means for controlling the operation of said reproducing/recording means and said cassette transporting means; wherein said control means comprises: first detecting means for detecting any one of said programmes that is recorded on the recording medium in one only of said cassettes; second detecting means for detecting two of said reproducing/recording means which are available for use; and dubbing control means for controlling said two reproducing/recording means detected by said second detecting means so that said one of said programmes detected by said first detecting means is automatically dubbed into another said cassette using said two reproducing/recording means. Every programme found to be recorded in one cassette only is thus automatically dubbed (that is, duplicated) into a second, different cassette, so that reproduction of the programmes in any required order is possible. The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, throughout which like parts are referred to by like references, and in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a known cassette autochanger; Figure 2 shows in block diagrammatic form an embodiment of cassette autochanger according to the present invention; Figure 3 is a flow chart of a main routine; Figure 4 is a flow chart of an original programme recording routine; and Figure 5 is a flow chart of a dubbing routine. Referring first to Figure 2, the embodiment of cassette autochanger to be described can, for example, be used in a broadcasting station to select and transmit programmes comprising commercial messages or advertisements, and television programmes. As compared with the cassette autochanger described with reference to Figure 1, the embodiment additionally comprises a switcher 21 by way of which a signal S1 comprising a programme reproduced from a selected cassette by a VTR 3 is supplied to a transmitter 21 for broadcasting. A device controller 23, such as a microcomputer, is connected to the cassette delivery mechanism 4 (Figure 1), the VTRs 3 and the switcher 21 for supplying and receiving command and information signals S11, S12 and S13 respectively. An overall system controller 24, such as a host computer, is connected to the device controller 23 for supplying and receiving command and information signals S3, and is also connected to a monitor 25 and a keyboard 26. The system controller 24 maintains a reproduction list to which additions can be made and from which deletions can be made by operation of the keyboard 26 whilst the reproduction list is viewed on the monitor 25. The reproduction list is primarily a listing of the programmes to be reproduced by the cassette autochanger for broadcast transmission, and the order of reproduction. The reproduction list also comprises information such as broadcast times, programme durations and so on, but such information is not of relevance to the present description. If the cassette autochanger fails to operate normally a message is displayed on the monitor 25. In operation of the cassette autochanger, the system controller 24 executes a main routine within which are a plurality of sub-routines primarily effected by the device controller 23. Figure 3 is a flow chart of the main routine. In response to a routine start command at step SP1, the system controller 24 initializes the cassette autochanger at step SP2. Alternative steps SP3, SP4 and SP5 then provide a choice of an original programme recording routine, a dubbing routine and other routines, respectively. The other routines include a programme transmission routine for transmission of selected programmes, according to the reproduction list. When the answer to the end query at step SP6 is NO a further sub-routine can be selected, and when the answer is YES the main routine comes to an end at step SP7. As discussed above in relation to the known autochanger of Figure 1, both the one cassette for one programme recording system and the multisegment recording systems have problem, and these problem are overcome in this embodiment by using a modified recording system in which each programme is recorded in two different cassettes. Of course such double recording can be in a modified one cassette for one programme system, but clearly it is generally much more advantageous to use a modified multisegment recording system, as substantially fewer cassettes are required. With such a recording system, whatever programme is currently being reproduced, the next programme called for on the reproduction list is always available in a cassette different from the cassette currently being reproduced from, and that other cassette can therefore be selected, loaded into a VTR 3 and brought to the stand-by condition ready for reproduction. This is true even if the programme which has been called for next is also recorded in the cassette currently being reproduced. Thus sequential transmission of programmes in any order without gaps between programmes is always possible. This will now be described in more detail starting with the original recording of a programme consisting of a commercial message, preferably at a time which does not conflict with the transmission of programmes. When step SP3 in the main routine (Figure 3) is selected, the device controller 23 effects the original programme recording routine, the flow chart of which is shown in Figure 4. A cassette C is selected from the cassette storage bins and is supplied by the cassette delivery mechanism 4 (Figure 1) to be loaded into a VTR 3. The incoming programme is then recorded in the cassette C at step SP31. The cassette C in which the programme has been recorded is then stored at a selected location in a cassette storage bin. Upon the completion of the recording operation of the VTR 3, the device controller 23 executes a test procedure comprising a step of sending the cassette C storing the newly recorded programme to a VTR 3, similarly to sending the cassette C to a VTR 3 for broadcasting the programme, a step of testing the cassette C to see if the programme is recorded correctly, and a step of returning the cassette C to a cassette storage bin. If the programme is not recorded correctly, the routine returns to step SP31 to repeat the same recording procedure. If the response to the query in step SP32 is YES, that is, if the programme is recorded correctly in the cassette C, the device controller 23 registers the recorded programme as a once recorded programme in a programme data base provided in the device controller 23, and then returns to the main routine in step SP33. Thus, when a request is made for recording an original programme, the device controller 23 records the original programme by using one of the VTRs 3 as a programme recording means. Subsequent to such recording of an original programme, and likewise preferably at a time which does not conflict with transmission of programmes, the once recorded programme is dubbed. When step SP4 in the main routine (Figure 3) is selected, the device controller 23 effects the dubbing routine, the flow chart of which is shown in Figure 5. At step SP41, the device controller 23 makes a query to see if there are two VTRs 3 available for use. When the response in step SP41 is YES the device controller 23 executes a data base monitoring procedure in step SP42 to ascertain if there is any recorded programme recorded in the programme data base as a once recorded programme. When there is a cassette in which an original programme has just been recorded in step SP3 (Figure 4) and the dubbing of the recorded programme has not been effected, the response in step SP42 is YES. Then the device controller 23 executes step SP43 to dub the recorded programme, that is, the once recorded programme, in a second cassette by sending the cassette storing the once recorded programme and another cassette to respective VTRs 3. In dubbing the once recorded programme, the device controller 23 uses two VTRs 3 detected as available, namely, one VTR 3 for reproducing the once recorded programme from the first cassette, and the other for dubbing the once recorded programme in the second cassette. After the completion of the dubbing procedure, the device controller 23 makes a query in step SP44 to see if the once recorded programme has been dubbed correctly in the second cassette, by executing a test procedure, in which the second cassette is sent to the VTR console 2, the dubbed programme is reproduced from the second cassette to see if the programme is recorded correctly, and then the second cassette is returned to a cassette storage bin. If the response in step SP44 is NO, namely, the once recorded programme is not dubbed correctly in the second cassette, the device controller 23 executes step SP43 again to dub the once recorded programme in the second cassette. If the response in step SP44 is YES, the device controller 23 registers the once recorded programme as now a dubbed programme in the programme data base. After thus completing the dubbing procedure, the device controller 23 returns to the main routine in step SP45. The dubbing procedure is executed when the response in step SP41 is YES, namely, when two VTRs 3 are found to be available for the dubbing procedure. If the response in step SP41 is NO, namely, if two VTRs 3 are not found to be available, the device controller 23 jumps to step SP45 to return to the main routine without executing the steps following step SP41. Thus, the device controller 23 does not execute the dubbing procedure when two VTRs 3 are not available, and remains standing by until two VTRs 3 become available. If the response in step SP42 is NO, namely, if there is not any once recorded programme, and all the programmes are recorded in duplicate in the stored cassettes, the device controller 23 decides that the dubbing routine is completed and jumps to step SP45 to return to the main routine. The original programme recording procedure is executed for every request for recording an original programme. The device controller 23 executes the dubbing procedure in step SP4 to dub the once recorded programme recorded in a first cassette in a second cassette when the response in step SP41 is YES, namely, when two VTRs 3 are available. Thus, the device controller 23 does not execute the dubbing procedure whilst the VTR console 2 (Figure 2) is busy, for example, while the VTR console 2 is required to transmit a plurality of programmes successively, and executes the dubbing procedure to dub a recorded programme recorded in a first cassette in the second cassette using two VTRs 3 when the VTR console 2 has at least two VTRs 3 spare, and this may be, for example, while a long programme is being broadcast. Thus only spare VTRs 3 are used for original recording or dubbing, priority being given to any reproduction required for broadcasting. The cassettes C employed in this embodiment for recording programmes are tape cassettes, but any suitable recording media may be employed provided that it is capable of recording programmes for broadcasting and of allowing the reproduction of the recorded programmes. Although the embodiment has been described as applied to the duplicate recording of a commercial message, the present invention may be applied to the duplicate recording of programmes other than commercial messages.

Claims: A cassette autochanger for automatically supplying and selectively reproducing a plurality of cassettes (C) having programmes recorded on recording media thereof, the cassette autochanger comprising: a plurality of reproducing/recording means (3); a cassette housing means (1) having a plurality of cassette storage locations (5, 6); cassette transporting means (4, 9) for selectively transporting said cassettes (C) between said cassette storage locations (5, 6) and said reproducing/recording means (3); and control means (23, 24) for controlling the operation of said reproducing/recording means (3) and said cassette transporting means (4, 9); wherein said control means (23, 24) comprises: first detecting means (23) for detecting any one of said programmes that is recorded on the recording medium in one only of said cassettes (C); second detecting means (23) for detecting two of said reproducing/recording means (3) which are available for use; and dubbing control means (24) for controlling said two reproducing/recording means (3) detected by said second detecting means (23) so that said one of said programmes detected by said first detecting means (23) is automatically dubbed on to another said cassette (C) using said two reproducing/recording means (3). A cassette autochanger according to claim 1 wherein said control means (23, 24) controls the operation of said plurality of reproducing/recording means (3) and said cassette transporting means (4, 9) according to a reproduction list which lists the order of reproduction of said programmes. A cassette autochanger according to claim 2 comprising a keyboard (26) for inputting data for said reproduction list. A cassette autochanger according to claim 2 or claim 3 comprising a monitor (25) on which said reproduction list can be displayed. A cassette autochanger according to any one of the preceding claims wherein after dubbing said one of said programmes detected by said first detecting means (23) on the said other cassette (C), said control means (23, 24) tests whether said dubbing has been executed correctly by reproducing the dubbed programme and if it has not been executed correctly, said dubbing is executed again. A cassette autochanger according to any one of the preceding claims wherein an externally-supplied signal can be recorded on said recording medium in a said cassette (C) by said reproducing/recording means (3). A cassette autochanger according to claim 6 wherein after recording said externally-supplied signal, said control means (23, 24) tests whether said recording has been executed correctly by reproducing the dubbed programme and if it has not been executed correctly, said recording is executed again.

Inventors: ISHIGURO MAMORU C O PATENTS DI, YAMAUCHI SHINGO C O PATENTS DI, YOKOTA MASATO C O PATENTS DIVI, ISHIGURO, MAMORU, C/O PATENTS DIVISION, YAMAUCHI, SHINGO, C/O PATENTS DIVISION, YOKOTA, MASATO, C/O PATENTS DIVISION
Applicants: SONY CORP, SONY CORPORATION
Application year: 1991
Main classification: G11B15
IPC codes: G11B27, H04H20, G11B5, H04H60, G11B15, H04H1