Apparatus and method for reducing head wear in helical scan tape transport

A transport apparatus for reducing head wear of a rotary head assembly, the transport apparatus comprising:

• a housing having a transport region and a circuit card region;
• an intake opening disposed on a rearward portion of said transport region and a loading opening disposed on a forward portion of said transport region;
• an elevator assembly disposed within said transport region between said intake opening and said loading opening, wherein a tape cartridge is inserted through said loading opening and onto said elevator assembly;
• a take-up reel disposed within said rearward portion of said transport region;
• a rotary head disposed within said transport region between said elevator assembly and said take-up reel for performing read/write operations on a magnetic recording tape;
• a threading mechanism disposed within said transport region for threading said magnetic recording tape through a tape path, wherein said tape path advances from the tape cartridge, across said rotary head and onto said take-up reel;
• air flow means for passing a flow of air through said housing along a predetermined air flow path, wherein said flow of air passes:
• a) through said circuit card region;
• b) through said intake opening to enter said transport region;
• c) past, without flowing directly on said rotary head;
• d) along the magnetic recording tape as it is being threaded through said tape path so that contaminants on said magnetic recording tape are removed before the tape is threaded across said rotary head;
• and
• e) through said loading opening to exit said housing, so that contaminants are prevented from entering said housing while the tape cartridge is being exchanged.