Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Unwinding and rewinding a machine convertible information... – Including threading
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-15
2001-11-06
Rivera, William A. (Department: 3653)
Winding, tensioning, or guiding
Unwinding and rewinding a machine convertible information...
Including threading
C242S338000, C242S532100, C242S532600, C242S532700, C242S582000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06311915
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to tape drives and cartridges that use a storage tape to store and transfer data. More specifically, the present invention relates to a tape drive having an improved buckler for buckling and unbuckling a cartridge leader on the storage tape to a drive leader of the tape drive.
BACKGROUND
Tape drives are widely used for storing information in a digital form. These tape drives commonly use a storage tape having a thin film of magnetic material which receives the information. Typically, the storage tape is moved between a pair of spaced apart reels, past a data transducer to record or read back information from the storage tape.
In one type of tape drive, one of the reels is part of the tape drive, while the other reel is part of a removable cartridge. For this type of tape drive, the reel that is a part of the tape drive is commonly referred to as a take-up reel, while the reel that is a part of the cartridge is commonly referred to as a cartridge reel. With this system, upon insertion of the cartridge into the tape drive, it is necessary to couple the storage tape on the cartridge reel to the take-up reel of the tape drive. Subsequently, the storage tape must be uncoupled from the take-up reel, prior to removing the cartridge from the tape drive system.
Typically, a cartridge leader on the storage tape is automatically coupled to a drive leader that is connected to the take-up reel during insertion of the cartridge into the tape drive. The procedure of connecting the drive leader with the cartridge leader is commonly referred to as “buckling” or “coupling”. Subsequently, during ejection of the cartridge, the cartridge leader is unbuckled from the drive leader.
FIG. 1A
illustrates a prior art cartridge leader
10
P coupled to a prior art drive leader
12
P. In this embodiment, the cartridge leader
10
P includes a hoop
14
P and a notch
16
P, while the drive leader
12
P includes a mushroom shaped tab
18
P having a nose
20
P and a neck
22
P. The hoop
14
P is dimensioned to enable the nose
20
P and the neck
22
P of the drive leader
12
P to pass therethrough. The notch
16
P is dimensioned to receive the neck
22
P, but prevent the nose
20
P from passing therethrough.
FIG. 1B
illustrates a prior art buckler
24
P that automatically couples the prior art cartridge leader
10
P of a cartridge
26
P to the prior art drive leader
12
P. With this system, the prior art buckler
24
P has a single, finger type hook
28
P that fits into a drive leader aperture
30
P (illustrated in
FIG. 1A
) in the drive leader
12
P. The buckler
24
P also includes a protrusion
32
P that deflects the nose
20
P towards the cartridge
26
P. The buckler
24
P rotates to couple and uncouple the drive leader
12
P to the cartridge leader
10
P. Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,662,049 and 4,720,913 provide a detailed discussion of this type of tape buckling arrangement.
Unfortunately, this type of tape buckling arrangement is not completely satisfactory. More specifically, over time, the protrusion
32
P can permanently deform the nose
20
P of the drive leader
12
P. As a result thereof, the drive leader
12
P may have difficulty passing along the tape path to the take-up reel.
In light of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an easy and accurate way to reliably couple and de-couple a storage tape of a cartridge to a take-up reel of a tape drive. Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved buckler and buckle for a tape drive. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a tape drive that is compatible with prior art cartridges. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a tape drive system having a buckler and buckle that are relatively easy and cost efficient to manufacture and utilize.
SUMMARY
The present invention is directed to a tape drive that satisfies these objectives. The tape drive includes an improved buckler that couples a drive leader of the tape drive to a cartridge leader of a cartridge. As provided herein, the buckler includes a buckler retainer and a deflector. The buckler retainer selectively retains the drive leader to couple the drive leader to the cartridge leader. The deflector selectively deflects the drive leader.
Preferably, the deflector only deflects a portion of the drive leader during buckling to increase the reliability of buckling with some types of cartridge leaders. In one of the embodiments provided herein, the drive leader includes a mushroom shaped tab that fits within a hoop in the cartridge leader. In this design, the deflector selectively deflects the tab to fit within the hoop during buckling. Alternately, if the drive leader is flexed at all times, the tab may take a permanent set. As a result thereof, the drive leader may have difficulty passing along the tape path to the take-up reel.
Further, the buckler retainer and the deflector each pivot relative to a pivot axis. Importantly, the buckler retainer initially pivots relative to the pivot axis at a different rate than the deflector. In one version of the present invention, the buckler includes a deflector attacher that extends between the deflector and the buckler retainer and allows the buckler retainer to pivot relative to the buckler deflector. This feature allows the buckler retainer to pull the drive leader against the deflector and deflect the tab of the drive leader.
The present invention is also a method for buckling a drive leader of a tape drive to a cartridge leader of a cartridge. The method includes the steps of providing a tape drive and selectively deflecting the drive leader by moving the buckler retainer relative to the deflector.
Importantly, the buckler and buckle provided herein enhance buckling reliability between the cartridge leader and the drive leader. This reduces the possibility of leader runaway. Additionally, the durability of the buckler and buckle is significantly improved.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4330096 (1982-05-01), Bartel et al.
patent: 4577811 (1986-03-01), Bray et al.
patent: 4608614 (1986-08-01), Rinkleib et al.
patent: 4646177 (1987-02-01), Sanford et al.
patent: 4720913 (1988-01-01), Hertrich
patent: 4832284 (1989-05-01), Inoue
patent: 5046168 (1991-09-01), Ohsaki
patent: 5971310 (1999-10-01), Saliba et al.
patent: 6050514 (2000-04-01), Mansbridge
patent: 6092754 (2000-07-01), Rathweg et al.
patent: 6095445 (2000-08-01), Hentrich
Quantum Corporation
Rivera William A.
Roeder Steven G.
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