US 4,243,186 AGranted

Low profile magnetic tape drive with vacuum actuated auto-threading

AssigneeCipher Data Products, Inc.

InventorsJack Peter, Karl B. Offerman, Larry D. Brown, Derek J. Stone

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Abstract

Supply and take-up reels are mounted above a horizontal base for selective powered rotation about respective vertical axes. Vertical guide surfaces and a cover panel define an air tight continuous flowpath extending between the peripheries of the reels past a read/write head. A blower mounted in a hood structure beneath the base sucks air through the flowpath and through a perforated center spool of the take-up reel. A river of air thus pulls and guides the free end portion of the magnetic tape from the supply reel to the take-up reel as the supply reel is rotated by a drive motor to unwind the tape therefrom. The supply hub is adapted to automatically center the supply reel thereon. The supply hub further includes a plurality of annularly spaced reel engaging pawls mounted in, and normally retracted into the hub, and an over-center actuating means for selectively extending the pawls through differential rotation of a pair of separate rotors included in the hub.

Claims10

Dependent claims

An auto-threading low profile magnetic tape drive comprising:

a housing having a substantially horizontal base;
means for supporting a supply reel above the base for rotation about a substantially vertical axis, the supply reel having a length of magnetic tape wound thereabout terminating in a free end portion;
means for supporting a take-up reel above the base for rotation about a substantially vertical axis;
drive means mounted below the base and operatively coupled to the supporting means for selectively rotating the reels;
a tape utilization assembly including at least a tape reading head, the assembly mounted on the base between the peripheries of the reels;
channel means for defining a substantially airtight continuous flowpath between the peripheries of the reels and extending past the tape utilization assembly;
and
vacuum means for sucking air through the flowpath to pull and guide the free end portion of the tape from the supply reel to the take-up reel as the supply reel is rotated by the drive means to unwind the tape therefrom.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.