Positioner for magnetic tape cartridge magazine

摘要

The positioner for a magnetic tape cartridge magazine uses a companion cartridge magazine that holds a plurality of preloaded magnetic tape cartridges to individually access any one of the plurality of magnetic tape cartridges held by the cartridge magazine. The positioner of the present invention is able to move the cartridge magazine in a vertical direction, either up or down, such that an associated magnetic tape cartridge loader is able to selectively access any one of the plurality of magnetic tape cartridges loaded in the cartridge magazine. The positioner and loader each contain only one motor: one in the positioner for controlling the vertical motion of the cartridge magazine, one in the loader for loading a magnetic tape cartridge from the cartridge magazine into the associated tape drive. The width of the positioner is equal to or less than the width of the associated tape drive so that two positioner/loader-tape drive units can be mounted side by side.