APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MONITORING A PLURALITY OF CODED ARTICLES

摘要

An apparatus (50) for storing and monitoring a plurality of articles, including at least one cabinet or carrier (12) having a plurality of receptacles (26) in which the articles are stored. In one application, the apparatus (50) is utilized to maintain a library of magnetic tapes (10) or other storage media associated with a data processing center. Each of the articles is identified by a respective code or volser number, and requests for the articles are received by the system in the form of requests for a particular volser number. In a preferred embodiment, the articles may be randomly stored in any of the receptacles (26) in any of a plurality of carriers (12). The system (50) includes a polling and search system operable to identify the carrier (12) in which a requested article is currently stored, and a display system (534) operable to display the carrier's location. A host computer (52) controls the operation of the system, but no central data base is maintained of the coded articles. Instead, their volser numbers and usage histories are stored in respective memories (18) associated with each coded article.