Patent ID: 7630164

Claim:
A library apparatus comprising, as constituent modules, a medium depot keeping storage media in units of cells in a plurality of keeping cells; a plurality of recording/ regenerating devices which record and regenerate information by the use of said storage media; medium conveyors which convey storage media between said medium depot and said recording/regenerating devices; and a controller which enters the storage medium taken out from said medium depot into said recording/regenerating device under the control by said medium conveyor based on a command from a host to cause said recording/regenerating device to record or regenerate in the storage medium; wherein the library apparatus has radio tags arranged for the individual constituent modules maintained and replaced, and storing parts identifying information intrinsic to the individual constituent modules; and a tag reader mounted on said medium conveyor and reading the parts identifying information stored in said radio tags; and wherein said controller has a pars replacement determining unit which, for every rise of the apparatus, moves said medium conveyor to a position permitting reading of said radio tags arranged for the individual constituent modules to read the parts identifying information by means of said tag reader and store the information in a non-volatile memory, and when the read information is different from the parts identifying information read in the preceding run stored in said non-volatile memory, determines that the part has been replaced; and a parts management unit which manages the parts service life by obtaining statistical information comprising the number of operating runs for each of said constituent modules, and when said parts replacement determining unit determines that the part has been replaced, starts a new run of management of the parts life by clearing the statistical information comprising said number of operating runs.