Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Unwinding and rewinding a machine convertible information... – Including threading
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-24
2003-04-22
Rivera, William A. (Department: 3654)
Winding, tensioning, or guiding
Unwinding and rewinding a machine convertible information...
Including threading
C242S582000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06550710
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to digital tape cartridges, and in particular, to a tape cartridge leader having improved performance characteristics for use in single reel tape cartridges.
PROBLEM
It is a problem in single reel magnetic tape cartridges to provide a tape cartridge leader that implements all of the features necessary to reliably buckle and unbuckle the tape cartridge leader with the take-up leader, to guide the tape cartridge leader into the take-up reel and to enable the tape cartridge to lock the magnetic tape in place for transport and storage. Present solutions to this problem suffer from tape cartridge leader failures due to the conflicting requirements of all of these functions and the need to implement a plurality of features in close proximity to each other in a limited length of the tape cartridge leader.
Digital data is stored by tape drives on to magnetic tape media utilizing a variety of tape cartridge and tape cassette designs, but in all cases, the magnetic tape media is wound between a pair of tape reels as data is transferred to or from the magnetic tape media. In the art of data storage, the physical space required to store data is an important concern. Referring to
FIGS. 1-2
, to conserve space, tape drives often use the single reel tape cartridge design shown in
FIG. 1
, which utilizes a supply reel located within a removable tape cartridge (not shown) and a take-up reel
101
located within the tape drive
100
.
After the tape cartridge is inserted into the tape drive
100
, the magnetic tape media must be loaded into the tape drive
100
. The loading operation includes connecting the magnetic tape media to the take-up reel
101
and winding the magnetic tape media to a start point or.read position adjacent a tape head
112
. Various methods have been employed to make this connection.
FIG. 2
illustrates one such method wherein the magnetic tape media connects to the take-up reel
101
via a buckle
200
between a tape cartridge leader
203
and a take-up leader
201
. The tape cartridge leader
203
terminates the magnetic tape media at one end and consists of a strong flexible plastic strip that includes an ovular aperture
202
configured to mate with the take-up leader
201
. The take-up leader
201
is a similar strong flexible plastic strip that attaches at one end to the take-up reel
101
using a pair of integrally formed flanges
206
and
207
. The opposing end includes a stem
204
and a tab
205
designed to buckle with the ovular aperture
202
on the tape cartridge leader
203
.
The take-up leader
201
also includes apertures
209
,
210
and
208
. When a tape cartridge is not present in the tape drive
100
, the take-up leader
201
is wound around a plurality of guide rollers
102
-
105
in a curvilinear tape path and is secured in place by a rotating catch
106
that extends through the aperture
208
. During operation of the tape drive
100
, the catch
106
is rotated to an out of the way position to enable the tape drive to wind the magnetic tape media between the take-up reel
101
and the supply reel in the tape cartridge. In addition, the aperture
209
is used by the tape drive
100
to detect when the take-up leader
201
and the tape cartridge leader
203
are in an unbuckled position for ejection of the tape cartridge from the tape drive. The aperture
210
is configured so that the buckle
200
, between the take-up leader
201
and the tape cartridge leader
203
, aligns with the aperture
210
to reduce the effect of the added height of the buckle
200
during winding around the take-up reel
101
.
In similar fashion, the tape cartridge leader
203
consists of a strong flexible plastic strip that includes an ovular aperture
202
that buckles with the stem
204
and tab
205
of the take-up leader
201
of the tape drive. To prevent the tape cartridge leader
203
from being wound entirely into the tape cartridge, beyond the reach of the take-up leader
201
in the tape drive, the tape cartridge is equipped with a rotating cartridge leader retention hook
214
which is fixed to the cartridge housing and that extends through rectangular-shaped aperture
212
. In addition, a pair of guide “wings”, each consisting of a rectangular-shaped extension in the width direction of the tape cartridge leader
203
, follow corresponding guide tracks formed in the opposing supply reel flanges to guide the tape cartridge leader
203
into position, centered between the supply reel flanges. The guide wings are also used as a tape leader retention feature, since they engage stops formed in the guide tracks, to thereby limit the movement of the tape cartridge leader
203
into the tape cartridge.
There are reliability problems with the present design of the tape cartridge leader
203
, due to the stress placed on the tape cartridge leader
203
by the wind and rewind operations. In particular, the guide wings can crack and separate from the tape cartridge leader due to the force exerted on the guide wings by the tape drive seating the guide wings against the stops of the guide tracks in the tape rewind operation. Furthermore, the rectangular shape of the guide wings can cause rewind failures, due to the corners of the leading edges of the guide wings becoming damaged and failing to align with the guide tracks. In addition, the relatively short but stiff section of the tape cartridge leader does not flex sufficiently to remain completely in contact with the tape guide rollers in the tape path during the tape wind and rewind operations. The magnetic tape can potentially slip out of the tape path due to the failure of the tape cartridge leader properly seat against the guide rollers. These tape cartridge leader failures can result in the tape cartridge being unusable by the tape drive and/or resulting in an expensive tape cartridge leader repair/replacement.
SOLUTION
The present invention overcomes the problems outlined above and advances the art by providing a tape cartridge leader that has improved performance and reliability. The present tape cartridge leader comprises an elongated main body integrally formed between a first end and a second end. The first end connects to the magnetic tape media that is wound on the supply reel in the tape cartridge. The second end includes an ovular aperture that buckles with the stem and tab of the take up leader of the tape drive.
In the present tape cartridge leader, a flex relief aperture is provided in the tape cartridge leader, located in the body of the tape cartridge leader between the guide wings. This flex relief aperture enables the tape cartridge leader to bend in a tight radius as the tape cartridge leader is pulled around the tape guide rollers in the tape drive, thereby ensuring that the tape cartridge leader is properly seated on the tape guide rollers as it traverses the tape path in the tape drive. The flex relief aperture also reduces the possibility of cracks forming in the tape cartridge leader where the guide wings meet the body of the tape cartridge leader, which is a problem in existing tape cartridge leaders. The guide wings are also shaped with a lead in radius to reduce to possibility of damage to the guide wings. In addition, the trailing edge of the guide wings includes a lead in chamfer to aid in the guide wings engaging the guide track in the cartridge housing.
These modifications to the existing tape cartridge leader improve the performance and reliability of the tape cartridge leader by reliably providing tape cartridge leader flex, guide, stop, and buckling features.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3150840 (1964-09-01), Briskin et al.
patent: 3227387 (1966-01-01), Laa et al.
patent: 3254856 (1966-06-01), Camras
patent: 3379387 (1968-04-01), Takahashi et al.
patent: 3620893 (1971-11-01), Tarrson
patent: 3655145 (1972-04-01), Olsen
patent: 3690582 (1972-09-01), Duvall
patent: 3706423 (1972-12-01), Neff
patent: 3764088 (1973-10-01), Yamada et al.
patent: 3809218 (1974-05-01), Furst
patent: 4090680 (1978-05-01), Karsh
patent: 4572460 (1986-02-01), Hertrich
p
Hoge David Thomas
Vanderheyden William J.
Patton & Boggs LLP
Quantum Corporation
Rivera William A.
LandOfFree
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