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US 4,498,112 AGranted
Tape cartridge receptacle
AssigneeData Electronics, Inc.
InventorsHarold H. Georgens, A. Ray Brokaw
Life of this patent
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AssigneeData Electronics, Inc.
InventorsHarold H. Georgens, A. Ray Brokaw
Estimating the term…
A receptacle for a tape cartridge includes cartridge guide rails for engaging opposite sides of the cartridge housing to guide insertion and removal of the cartridge. The cartridge includes a magnetic tape and a door on the cartridge housing for opening to expose a portion of the tape prior to moving the cartridge into a locked position for engaging the tape with the head. The door is normally spring-biased to a closed position, and one of the guide rails has a door control rail that trips the door open against the bias of the return spring as the cartridge passes along the guide rail. The control rail also includes a ramped recessed portion which engages the door tripping arm and reduces the force applied against the bias of the return spring to permit the door to move inwardly through an angle to a partially open position during the latter portion of its travel into the receptacle. The ramped portion of the control rail controls inward movement of the door to keep the door away from the head during insertion and removal of the cartridge. A stop pin or the like can be provided to engage the inside edge of the door to absolutely prevent movement of the door into contact with the head. In the locked position of the cartridge, the control rail retains the door in its partially open position, which reduces the overall width of the cartridge within the tape drive unit. This reduces the overall size requirement of the tape drive unit, making it possible to construct a tape drive package for 1/4-inch magnetic tape cartridges in the same standardized dimensions as 51/4 inch floppy disk drives and Winchester-type disk drives.
A receptacle for receiving a tape cartridge to be inserted into a tape drive unit having a magnetic head, the cartridge having a tape contained in a housing, and a door on the housing for opening to expose a portion of the tape for contact with the head, the door being normally closed under the influence of a return spring and being rotatable against the control spring through an angle to a fully open position in which the tip of the door is farthest from the edge of the cartridge housing most remote from the door, the door also being rotatable to a partially open position in which the angle through which the door has rotated is less than the angle in the fully open position, so the tip of the door is closer to said remote edge of the cartridge housing than when the door is in the fully open position, the receptacle including means for engaging the cartridge housing to guide the cartridge into the receptacle toward the head, and a door control rail for contacting a portion of the door during guided movement of the cartridge along the guide means to rotate the door open against the bias of the door return spring, the door control rail having a front portion for engaging the door sufficiently to rotate it into its fully open position and a rear portion for engaging the door to rotate it into its partially open position during at least a latter portion of the cartridge travel toward the head to allow the cartridge door to clear the head during the latter portion of the cartridge travel and to retain the door in its partially open position when the tape contacts the head for reducing the overall width of the tape cartridge, compared with the width as measured from the tip of the fully open door to the edge of the cartridge housing most remote from the door.
A receptacle for receiving a tape cartridge to be inserted into a tape drive unit having a magnetic head, the cartridge having a tape contained in a housing, and a door on the housing for opening to expose a portion of the tape for contact with the head, the door being normally closed under the influence of a return spring and being rotatable against the control spring through an angle to a fully open position in which the tip of the door is farthest from the edge of the cartridge housing most remote from the door, the door also being rotatable to a partially open position in which the angle through which the door has rotated is less than the angle in the fully open position, so that the tip of the door is closer to said remote edge of the cartridge housing than when the door is in the fully open position, the receptacle including a door control rail for contacting a portion of the door during movement of the cartridge into the receptacle to rotate the door open against the bias of the door return spring, the door control rail having a front portion for engaging the door sufficiently to rotate it into its fully open position and a rear portion for rotating the door into its partially open position during at least a latter portion of the cartridge travel toward the head to allow the cartridge door the clear the head during the latter portion of said cartridge travel and to retain the door in its partially open position when the tape contacts the head for reducing the overall width of the tape cartridge, as compared with the width measured from the tip of the fully open door to the edge of the cartridge housing most remote from the door.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.