Tape drive tension management
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsMarkus Schäfer, Stefan Wiedemann, Erik Rueger, Robert Beiderbeck, Ole Asmussen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A tape drive includes a plurality of rollers, a head, a tension sensor, and control circuitry. The rollers are spatially arranged within the tape drive to define a route for tape of a received data cartridge to travel from the received data cartridge to a tape reel. The head includes read elements and write elements configured to read from and write to the tape as tape of the received data cartridge travels along the route. The tension sensor is configured to measure tension of the tape as it travels along the route. The control circuitry is configured to cause a motor to impact the tension to keep the tape within a tension threshold.
Claims20
A tape drive comprising:
- a plurality of rollers spatially arranged within the tape drive to define a route for tape of a received data cartridge to travel from the received data cartridge to a tape reel;
- a head with read elements and write elements configured to read from and write to the tape as tape of the received data cartridge travels along the route;
- a tension sensor configured to measure tension of the tape as it travels along the route;
- and
- control circuitry configured to:
- read, prior to a leader pin assembly guiding the tape to the tape reel, a set of reference values of a cartridge memory of the received data cartridge to determine a tension threshold for the tape and a configuration of the head for the tape;
- and
- cause both a motor to impact the tension to keep the tape within the tension threshold and the head to be configured according to the configuration as the leader pin assembly guides the tape to the tape reel.
A method comprising:
- receiving a data cartridge into a tape drive that includes a plurality of rollers spatially arranged within the tape drive to define a route from the received data cartridge to a tape reel of the tape drive such that tape of the data cartridge travels along the route past a head with read elements and write elements;
- reading, prior to a leader pin assembly guiding the tape to the tape reel, a set of reference values of a cartridge memory of the received data cartridge to determine a tension threshold for the tape and a configuration of the head for the tape;
- measuring, using a tension sensor of the tape drive, a tension of the tape as it travels along the route;
- and
- causing, by control circuitry of the tape drive and in response to sensing the tension, both a motor of the tape drive to impact the tension to keep the tape within the tension threshold and the head to be configured according to the configuration as the leader pin assembly guides the tape to the tape reel.
A system comprising:
- a processor;
- and
- a memory in communication with the processor, the memory containing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
- receive a data cartridge into a tape drive that includes a plurality of rollers spatially arranged within the tape drive to define a route from the received data cartridge to a tape reel of the tape drive such that tape of the data cartridge travels along the route past a head with read elements and write elements;
- read, prior to a leader pin assembly guiding the tape to the tape reel, a set of reference values of a cartridge memory of the received data cartridge to determine a tension threshold for the tape and a configuration of the head for the tape;
- measure, using a tension sensor of the tape drive, a tension of the tape as it travels along the route;
- and
- cause, by control circuitry of the tape drive and in response to sensing the tension, both a motor of the tape drive to impact the tension to keep the tape within the tension threshold and the head to be configured according to the configuration as the leader pin assembly guides the tape to the tape reel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.