Edge tensioning sloping tape guide for arcuately scanning tape drive
US5646806A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 8, 1996 |
| Grant date | Jul 8, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 8, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B15/4678
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A sloping tape guide is provided for an arcuately scanning tape drive so that tension per unit width of a magnetic tape is equalized in the head/tape contact zone on a front face of a head assembly of the arcuate scanner. The tape wraps over the circular edge of the magnetic head assembly. As a consequence, the tension per unit width is higher at the center of the tape that at the edges. The low tension at the edges of the tape results in poor head to tape contact in these regions and consequently unacceptable signal performance. This invention overcomes these difficulties by providing a means to equalize tension per unit width across the tape. The sloping tape guide has a front sloping flat surface which is bounded by top and bottom edges and first and second side edges, the first side edge being closer to the lat surface slopes rearwardly from its first edge to its second edge away from the periphery of the head assembly. The second edge is concave so that top and bottom edge portions of the sloping surface have a longer path length than a center portion of the sloping surface. By wrapping the tape around the second edge, the top and bottom edge portions of the magnetic tape trav…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.