Patent ID: 7499242

Claim:
A data storage and retrieval device, comprising: a housing selected from a plurality of housings of a plurality of sizes; a tape drive in said housing; at least one storage magazine in said housing, said storage magazine having a plurality of storage slots for data cartridges, said storage magazine having a magazine housing selected from a plurality of magazine housings of a plurality of sizes, said selected magazine housing being selected to have a size depending upon a size of said housing that has been selected; a cartridge shuttle in said housing and operable to transport data cartridges from the storage slots in said data magazine to the tape drive and visa versa, said cartridge shuttle including threaded elevator shafts, said threaded elevator shafts being selected from a plurality of threaded elevator shafts of a plurality of sizes; and said data storage and retrieval device being scalable to one of a plurality of different sizes in a direction perpendicular to a travel direction of the cartridge shuttle by selecting said housing from said plurality of different sized housings, by selecting said magazine housing from said plurality of different sized magazine housings and by selecting said threaded elevator shafts from said plurality of different sized threaded elevator shafts.