Loop-shaped pneumatic drive
AssigneeMinnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
InventorsArthur R. Moore, Lynn R. Skow, William M. Dunbar
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A loop-shaped drive and drive system for retrieving and storing information on flexible recording strips. The drive has a loop-shaped conduit having a working surface on its inner periphery. A fluid, such as air, is supplied to the conduit and emerges from an array of uniformly distributed orifices in the working surface. Fluid streams from the orifices support the recording strip above the working surface and transport it around the inner periphery of the loop-shaped conduit. As the strip travels around the loop-shaped conduit, it passes in close proximity with at least one transducer, thereby allowing the transducer(s) to read/write information on the strip.
Claims24
A loop-shaped drive comprising a loop-shaped conduit having a thickness defined by an inner periphery wall and an outer periphery wall, each of said surfaces, said working surface having a plurality of orifices uniformly distributed throughout for directing fluid, supplied to said conduit, to support a strip adjacent to and spaced from said working surface and to transport said strip around said one of said exterior surfaces in at least a first direction and into close proximity with at least one transducer, whereby said at least one transducer can sense the properties of said strip.
A loop-shaped drive for recording strips, comprising a loop-shaped conduit defined by an inner peripheral wall and an outer peripheral wall, each of said peripheral walls having an interior surface within said conduit and an exterior surface outside of said conduit, said conduit having a working surface on said exterior surface of said inner peripheral wall, said working surface having a plurality of orifices uniformly distributed throughout for directing fluid, supplied to said conduit, to support a recording strip adjacent and spaced from said working surface and to transport said strip around said inner peripheral wall of said loop-shaped conduit in at least a first direction and into close proximity with at least one transducer, whereby information may be transferred between said at least one transducer and said recording strip.
A loop-shaped drive system, comprising:
- a loop-shaped conduit defined by an inner peripheral wall and an outer peripheral wall, each of said peripheral walls having an interior surface within said conduit and an external surface outside of said conduit, said conduit having a first working surface on one of said exterior surfaces, said first working surface having a plurality of orifices uniformly distributed throughout for directing a fluid, supplied to said conduit, to support a recording strip adjacent to and spaced from said working surface and to transport said strip around said one of said exterior surfaces of said loop-shaped conduit, said loop-shaped conduit having a slot provided therein through which a strip may pass;
- a linear conduit having a second working surface, said second working surface having a second plurality of orifices uniformly distributed throughout for directing fluid, supplied to said linear conduit, to support a strip adjacent to and spaced from said second working surface and to transport said strip, wherein said linear conduit is oriented so as to transport said strip onto said first working surface of said loop-shaped conduit through said slot;
- at least one transducer proximate said first working surface on said one of said exterior surfaces, whereby information can be transferred between said at least one transducer and said strip as said strip is transported past said at least one transducer;
- and
- a fluid source for providing said fluid to said linear conduit and said loop-shaped conduit.
A method of transferring information between a loop-shaped drive and a recording strip, the loop-shaped drive comprising a loop-shaped conduit defined by an inner peripheral wall and an outer peripheral wall, each of said peripheral walls having an interior surface within said conduit and an external surface outside of said conduit, said conduit having a working surface on said exterior surface of said inner peripheral wall, the method comprising the steps of:
- directing fluid, supplied to said conduit, through a first plurality of orifices uniformly distributed throughout said working surface;
- supporting a recording strip adjacent to and spaced from said working surface and transporting said strip around said exterior surface of said inner peripheral wall;
- and
- reading/writing information on said recording strip as said strip is transported past at least one transducer.
A loop-shaped drive comprising:
- a first loop-shaped conduit defined by an inner peripheral wall and an outer peripheral wall, each of said peripheral walls having an interior surface within said conduit and an external surface outside of said conduit, said conduit having a first working surface on said inner peripheral wall, said first working surface having a first plurality of orifices uniformly distributed throughout for directing a fluid, supplied to said first conduit, to support a strip and transport it around said inner peripheral wall of said loop-shaped conduit in at least a first direction and into close proximity with at least one transducer, whereby said at least one transducer can sense the properties of said strip;
- a second conduit having a second working surface, said second working surface having a second plurality of orifices uniformly distributed throughout for directing fluid, supplied to said second conduit, to support and transport said strip, wherein said second conduit is oriented so as to transport said strip onto said first loop-shaped conduit.
A loop-shaped drive for recording strips, comprising:
- a loop-shaped conduit defined by an inner peripheral wall and an outer peripheral wall, each of said peripheral walls having an interior surface within said conduit and an external surface outside of said conduit, said first working surface having a first plurality of orifices uniformly distributed throughout for directing fluid, supplied to said loop-shaped conduit, to support a recording strip and transport it around said inner peripheral wall in at least a first direction and into close proximity with at least one transducer, whereby information may be transferred between said at least one transducer and said recording strip;
- and
- a linear conduit having a second working surface, said second working surface having a second plurality of orifices uniformly distributed throughout for directing fluid, supplied to said linear conduit, to support and transport said recording strip, wherein said linear conduit is oriented so as to transport said strip onto said first working surface of said loop-shaped conduit through a slot provided in said loop-shaped conduit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.