RECORDING MEDIA LIBRARY APPARATUS HAVING A MEDIUM INVERSION UNIT SEPARATED FROM A TRANSPORT MECHANSIM

摘要

Recording media library apparatus includes an inversion unit for inverting a desired or designated recording medium of the double-side recording type so as to correspond to a predetermined driving direction of a drive unit. The inversion unit is installed in any one of a plurality of predetermined installing areas separate from a transport mechanism within the library apparatus. By the inversion unit performing necessary inversion of the double-side recording type medium, the same transport mechanism can be used for recording media of both the double-side recording type and the single-side recording type. Because the inversion unit is provided separately from the transport mechanism, the inferior of one recording medium by the inversion unit and the transport of another recording medium by the transport mechanism can be performed concurrently in a parallel fashion, which can greatly enhance the processing speed and hence the processing performance of the library apparatus. Particularly, because the transport mechanism in this library apparatus does not perform the function of inverting the recording medium and thus does not have to halt or wait its medium transporting operation during the medium inversion, the transport mechanism can perform the medium transporting operation with greatly increased efficiency.