Irregular surfaced tape guide
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsDarrel Bloomquist, Judy Bloomquist
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tape guide that has textured surface over which the tape passes. The textured surface has a surface roughness exceeding the flying height of the tape above the surface. This new irregular surface topography reduces the air bearing and allows limited contact between the tape guide and the tape while minimizing tape distortion that can occur with other surface topographies.
Claims7
-18. (canceled)
A tape guide, comprising a hub having a textured surface over which a tape passes and spaced apart parallel flanges extending out from the hub, the surface texture comprising a texture selected from the following group:
- a sputter texture that includes an array of small bumps similar to that achieved by sputter depositing a texture material on to the surface of the hub;
- a laser texture that includes an array of surface irregularities produced by melting and recrystallizing tiny areas on the surface of the hub surface similar to that achieved with techniques used to produce laser textured recording disks;
- and
- a machined texture that includes a series of intersecting ridges on the surface of the hub similar to a faceted knurled surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.