Tape cartridge allowing concurrent reading/writing on multiple tapes
AssigneeTandberg Data ASA
InventorGuttorm Rudi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A multi-tape cartridge has a number of tapes therein which are either wound in common on a single hub, or are wound individually on respective hubs, and proceed in the housing along respective tape paths from the commonly wound hub, or the individual hubs, to respective take-up hubs also disposed in the housing. One of the sidewalls of the housing has openings therein so as to expose the respective tape paths, followed by the tapes, to an exterior of the housing, thereby allowing data transfer heads to be inserted into the opening so as to engage the magnetic tapes to read data therefrom or write data thereon.
Claims11
A multi-tape cartridge comprising:
- a housing having a plurality of sidewalls;
- a first hub rotatably mounted in said housing;
- a plurality of magnetic tapes wound in overlapping fashion on said first hub, each of said plurality of magnetic tapes having a free end;
- a plurality of further hubs, equal in number to said plurality of magnetic tapes, rotatably mounted in said housing at respective locations between said first hub and said sidewalls, the free ends of said plurality of magnetic tapes being respectively connected to said further hubs with said magnetic tapes proceeding along respective tape paths from said first hub to said respective further hubs;
- and
- a plurality of openings in one of said sidewalls of said housing, equal in number to said plurality of magnetic tapes, respectively disposed at locations exposing the respective tape paths to an exterior of said housing.
A multi-tape cartridge comprising:
- a housing having a plurality of sidewalls;
- a first hub rotatably mounted in said housing;
- first and second magnetic tapes wound in overlapping fashion on said first hub, each of said first and second magnetic tapes having a free end;
- a second hub rotatably mounted in said housing at a location between said first hub and one of said sidewalls, said free end of said first magnetic tape being connected to said first hub and said first magnetic tape proceeding along a first tape path from said first hub to said second hub;
- a third hub, rotatably mounted in said housing between said first hub and said one of said sidewalls, said free end of said second magnetic tape being connected to said third hub and said second magnetic tape proceeding along a second tape path from said first hub to said third hub;
- and
- said one of said sidewalls having a first opening disposed at a location exposing said first tape path to an exterior of said housing and a second opening disposed at a location exposing said second tape path to said exterior of said housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.