Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Unwinding and rewinding a machine convertible information... – Including threading
Reexamination Certificate
2003-02-03
2004-11-30
Rivera, William A. (Department: 3654)
Winding, tensioning, or guiding
Unwinding and rewinding a machine convertible information...
Including threading
C242S530100, C242S586600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06824090
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reel and a drive device having the reel on which is wound a recording tape.
2. Description of the Related Art
A recording tape such as magnetic tapes and the like are used as an external recording medium for computers and the like. Such recording tape has large recording surface area, and is mainly used as recording medium for back-up of large volumes of information. Accordingly, it is preferred to prevent the recording tape from being adhered thereto dust or dirt, and it is also preferred that accommodating space for storage is smaller.
For the above reason, a recording tape cartridge, in which a recording tape is wound on a single reel and which rotatably contains the reel in a case, is adopted. The case of this recording tape cartridge can prevent the recording tape from being adhered thereto dust or dirt. Further, comparing this recording tape cartridge (a single-reel cartridge) with a recording tape cartridge in which, in addition to the first reel, a second reel for retracting the recording tape at a time when information is to be recorded on or played back from the recording tape is provided (a two-reel cartridge), accommodating space for storage of the two-reel cartridge can become substantially the half of that of the single-reel cartridge.
A recording tape cartridge provided with a leader block connected directly to a tip end (a free end) of a recording tape or connected to the tip end of the recording tape via a leader tape or the like, is known. The leader block is held at outside an opening (held at in the vicinity of the opening), from which the recording tape is drawn, provided at the case of the recording tape cartridge. The leader block functions as an operating member when the recording tape is drawn from the case. Also, the leader block functions as a closing member for closing the opening from which the recording tape is drawn.
The recording tape cartridge described above is loaded into a drive device at the time when information is to be recorded on the recording tape or when the information is to be reproduced from the recording tape on which the information is recorded. In the drive device to which the recording tape cartridge is loaded, a pulling out device operates the leader block to draw the recording tape from the case, and the recording tape is guided along a predetermined tape path to accommodate the leader block in a hub (a reel hub) of a machine reel (a take-up reel).
This state will be explained base on
FIG. 14A. A
concave portion
100
is formed at a leader block
106
at a central position in a longitudinal direction of the leader block
106
. A tip end of a recording tape
104
is connected to the concave portion
100
via a clamp pin
102
. The leader block
106
is accommodated in a fitting portion
112
provided at a hub
110
of a machine reel
108
(hereinafter, a reel
108
). An end surface of the leader block
106
, positioned at an opening end of the fitting portion
112
, is an arc-curvature surface
116
corresponding to a peripheral surface
114
of the hub
110
. The arc shaped curvature surface
116
, together with the peripheral surface
114
, forms a winding surface
118
, on which the magnetic tape
104
is wound, having a substantially circle configuration in plane view. The magnetic tape
104
is wound on the winding surface
118
by driving to rotate the reel
108
(the hub
110
) within the drive device.
However, an arc length of the curvature surface
116
, formed at the end surface in the longitudinal direction of the leader block
106
and forming a part of the winding surface
118
, is short. In other words, a protrude-length (a protrude-distance in radial direction) “a” of the arc-curvature surface
116
from the opening edge of the fitting portion
112
is small, as shown in FIG.
14
A. Accordingly, as shown in
FIG. 14B
, it may occur that the arc-curvature surface
116
is positioned within the fitting portion
112
(the arc-curvature surface
116
does not protrude from the fitting portion
112
) even if an accommodated position of the leader block
106
in the fitting portion
112
is merely slightly shifted from a proper position.
In this case, a folded portion (deformed portion) is generated on the recording tape
104
by the opening edge of the fitting portion
112
. Due to this folded portion, in similar way, other folded portions are generated at portions, corresponding to the opening edge of the fitting portion
112
, of the recording tape
104
wound further on the hub
110
. These folded portions of the recording tape
104
are in substantial recording-region of the tape. Therefore, regions on the recording tape
104
on which information cannot be recorded may be generated or information recorded on the recording tape
104
may be lost, due to the folded portions of the recording tape
104
. Because a distance between said portion of the recording tape
104
and a recording and reproducing (play back) head is not a proper distance at the time of recording the information or playing back the information.
On the other hand, as shown in
FIG. 14C
, in a case in which the accommodated position of the leader block
106
in the fitting portion
112
is shifted from the proper position, and the curvature surface
116
protrudes further than the peripheral surface
114
of the hub
110
, the recording tape
104
is wound along a protruded portion (a stepped portion) of a small zone on the winding surface
118
, with a curvature that is larger than a predetermined winding curvature due to the arc length of the curvature surface
116
being short. Namely, the recording tape
104
is deformed at the protruded portion. In this case, due to this deformed portion of the recording tape
104
, more deformed portions are generated at portions of the recording tape
104
wound further on the hub
110
, in the similar way of the case described above. Therefore, regions on the recording tape
104
on which information cannot be recorded may be generated or information recorded on the recording tape
104
may be lost, due to these deformation.
Even in a case in which a leader pin (not the leader block) is attached to the tip end of the recording tape, namely, in a case in which the leader pin is pulled out from the case by the drawing device of the drive device, the leader pin is held at a holding portion provided at the hub, and the recording tape is wound by driving to rotate the machine reel, there is a stepped portion (an uneven portion) at the holding portion. Accordingly, the same problems mentioned above arise in this case.
Further, because data capacity recordable on single recording tape cartridge is not so large. Accordingly, if information cannot be recorded on single one recording tape cartridge because the data amount of the information is large, the information is divided such that the information is recorded on a plurality of the recording tape cartridges. In this case, because the conventional drive device cannot read data from or write data on a plurality of the recording tape cartridges at the same time, only single recording tape cartridge is loaded or ejected in, for example, one winding operation. Namely, the plurality of the recording tape cartridges cannot be loaded or ejected at one back up operation. Accordingly, there are problems that it takes long time to read or write information, further, operation of loading or ejecting the recording tape cartridge is troublesome.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the aforementioned, an object of the present invention is to provide a reel and a drive device preventing that a region of a recording tape on which information cannot be recorded is generated or information recorded on the recording tape is lost by preventing deformation of the recording tape, and which can easily read data from or write data on a recording tape cartridge in a short time.
The inventor of the present invention takes note that even if a stepped portion (an uneven portion) is formed at a holdi
Rivera William A.
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
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