Back to results
US 4,052,020 AGranted
Computer tape reel
OwnerJon A. Knoxinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A reel for storing computer tape comprising an annular hub and two annular flanges wherein the hub is formed by molding a thin somewhat elastic plastic hub sleeve about the outside cylindrical surface of an I-beam sectioned rigid annular hub core.
Claims16
An improvement in a computer reel of the type which stores magnetic tape and comprises an annular hub and two annular flanges coaxial with the bore of the hub and securely attached to the hub to define a tape housing space;
- said hub including a hub table formed as its outside cylindrical surface and a reel mounting face formed as a lateral surface adjacent to said bore and located on the rear side of the hub, which is the side that faces a mating drive spindle;
- and an annular feeler switch channel adjacent to said mounting face and coaxial with said bore;
- wherein the improvement is:
- Said hub consisting of a rigid annular hub core, which is the hub's major source of structural strength and dimensional stability, and a hub sleeve, which is a thin layer of plastic insert molded to the core and covering the outside cylindrical surface thereof;
- the outside cylindrical surface of said core unavoidably possessing geometric inexactitudes such as ovality, noncoaxiality with said bore, and molding sink depressions;
- the inside cylindrical surface of said sleeve being insert molded against said core to mate with the outside cylindrical surface of the core and to conform to all of said geometric inexactitudes thereof;
- said table, which is the outside cylindrical surface of said sleeve, being insert molded independent of the outside cylindrical surface of said core and with said hub bore serving as the core's locating surface so that the sleeve levels out the geometric inexactitudes of the outside cylindrical surface of the core and the table is rendered precisely coaxial with the bore, precisely cylindrical, and free of intolerable sink depressions.
4 more elements
An improvement in a computer reel of the type which stores magnetic tape and comprises an annular hub and two annular flanges coaxial with the bore of the hub and securely attached to the hub to define a tape housing space;
- said hub including a hub table formed as its outside cylindrical surface and reel mounting face formed as a lateral surface adjacent to said bore and located on the rear side of the hub, which is the side that faces a mating drive spindle;
- and an annular feeler switch channel adjacent to said mounting face and coaxial with said bore;
- wherein the improvement is:
- each of said flanges consisting of a disk-shaped flange body and an annular flange tie which is coaxial with the body and projects hubward from the body, the tie constituting a structural basis for securely attaching the flange of which it is a part of said hub;
- said flange tie consists of a hubward annular thin compressible portion or compressible tie rim and a counter-hubward annular thin flexible portion or flexible tie arm, which connects the rim to said flange body;
- an annular expansion pocket;
- a flange-to-hub suspension system designed to prevent temperature-swing-induced problems stemming from a differential in expansivity which may exist between said hub and said flanges includes said compressible tie rim, said flexible tie arm, and said annular expansion pocket between the radially outward surface of the arm and the adjacent surface of the hub, the pocket serving to accommodate temperature-swing-induced flexings of the arm.
4 more elements
An improvement in a computer reel of the type which stores magnetic tape and comprises an annular hub and two annular flanges coaxial with the bore of the hub and securely attached to the hub to define a tape housing space;
- said hub including a hub table formed as its outside cylindrical surface and a reel mounting face formed as a lateral surface adjacent to said bore and located on the rear side of the hub, which is the side that faces a mating drive spindle;
- and an annular feeler switch channel adjacent to said mounting face and coaxial with said bore;
- wherein the improvement is:
- said hub consisting of a rigid annular hub core, which is the hub's major source of structural strength and dimensional stability, and a hub sleeve, which is a thin layer of plastic molded to the core and covering the outside cylindrical surface thereof, and the sleeve being specifically formed and supported by the core so that said hub table is precisely cylindrical, precisely coaxial with said bore, precisely perpendicular to the plane of said reel mounting face, and nongenerative of microscopic debris;
- said hub core includes a radially outermost annular portion or roof, a radially innermost annular portion or floor, and an annular web connecting the roof to the floor;
- said roof, floor, and web are coaxial with said bore;
- said hub core is basically an I-beam in radial cross section, said web appearing as the vertical member of the "I" and said roof and floor appearing as the horizontal members of the "I";
- on the front side of said hub core a stout annular reinforcement fillet between said web and said roof;
- said hub sleeve is elastically compliant to a sufficient degree to insure that said hub table possess an expansivity approximately equal to that of said hub core;
- each of said flanges consists of a disk-shaped flange body and an annular flange tie which is coaxial with the body and projects hubward from the body, the tie constituting a structural basis for securely attaching the flange of which it is a part to said hub;
- said flange tie consists of a hubward annular thin compressible portion or compressible tie rim and a counterhubward annular thin flexible portion or flexible tie arm, which connects the rim to said flange body;
- a flange-to-hub suspension system designed to prevent temperature-swing-induced problems stemming from a differential in expansivity which may exist between said hub and said flanges includes said compressible tie rim, said flexible tie arm, and an annular expansion pocket between the radially outward surface of the arm and the adjacent surface of the hub, the pocket serving to accommodate temperature-swing-induced flexings of the arm;
- a flange bond surface is formed as the radially outward surface of said compressible rim;
- said hub core includes two hub bond surfaces, one located on each side of the core;
- each of said hub bond surfaces is formed as the radially inward surface of that portion of said roof which lies on the relevant side of said hub core and is dimensioned to mate with at least one of said flange bond surfaces;
- said flanges are securely attached to said hub by means of a solvent cement bond between said flange bond surfaces and the respectively adjacent hub bond surfaces;
- said flange bond surface is a truncated cone with its maximum diameter located adjacent to side tie arm;
- each of said hub bond surfaces is a truncated cone with its maximum diameter located at its outer end;
- sonic energy directors project radially outward from said flange bond surface, the directors enabling sonic welding of the flange bond surface to the mating hub bond surface to secure these surfaces against relative movement through the duration required for said solvent cement bond to set.
16 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.