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AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsWilliam Marvin Dyer, James Howard Eaton, David Howard Flores Harper
Estimating the term…
A mechanical linkage, including a worm gear and a worm gear support bracket, for joining a drive motor to a helical gear; it is particularly adapted for controlling a tape drive head. The worm gear head is threadably engaged with the helical gear. The shaft of the worm gear is engaged with the motor and is sufficiently flexible to operably correct misalignments between the worm gear shaft and the motor shaft. The support bracket includes a flat leaf spring which provides lateral spring force against the worm gear shaft to maintain a driving engagement between the worm gear and the helical gear, while the leaf spring is stiff in the in-plane directions of movement. The support bracket also includes a bushing, such as a C-shaped bushing or a cylindrical bushing, which provides support for the worm gear shaft against the helical gear.
A mechanical linkage comprising:
A tape drive comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.