Bi-compliant tape guide
AssigneeStorage Technology Corporation
InventorsDon Janssen, Barry Spicer, Christian A. Todd
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This invention is directed to a tape guide that minimizes the effects of vertical position error at the reels of a reel to reel tape drive by providing gentle tape guidance forces and coarse correction of magnetic tape and reduces the amount of debris accumulation and tape wear resulting from the load between the magnetic tape and the guiding elements of the tape guide, said tape guide having two compliant flanges and an tape guiding surface, said complaint flange comprising a plurality of spring members extending individually from a base member and a pad having high wear resistance and high mechanical strength mounted at the end of each spring member.
Claims8
An improved tape guide for guiding tape along a tape path in a reel-to-reel tape drive system comprising:
- a tape guiding surface;
- a first compliant edge guide positioned to exert a load on said tape when said tape is laterally displaced from a nominal position on said tape guiding surface in a first direction;
- a second compliant edge guide positioned to exert a load on said tape when said tape is laterally displaced from a nominal position on said tape guiding surface in a second direction opposite from said first direction;
- and
- said first and second compliant edge guides positioned along the entire guiding surface in which said tape guide guides said tape.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.