Cartridge transferring robot for library apparatus, and library apparatus

摘要

A cartridge transferring robot which is capable of providing multiple functions to a hand mechanism to allow the direct insertion/extraction of a cartridge between a deck and the hand mechanism. The cartridge transferring robot according to the present invention has a hand mechanism comprising a pair of upper and lower hand members attached to a hand base to be slidable vertically, a spring for biasing the hand members in a direction of closing directions of gripping the cartridge, a pair of upper and lower cam followers attached to the hand members, a cam disposed between the cam followers for adjusting the separation between the cam followers to cause the hand members to take opening and closing actions against the biasing force of the spring, and a motor for rotationally driving the cam. This invention is applicable to a library apparatus storing a large number of cartridges such as magnetic tape cartridges and optical disk cartridges.