JP2000268337A - Tape cartridge, elongated tape, cartridge tape data storage and retrieval subsystem and method of minimizing damage to leader section in tape cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce leader scratching generated while a tape cartridge is inserted and taken out and to reduce debris generated due to the flaw. SOLUTION: This cartridge tape leader 1 is coated with a thin layer of a scratch resistant material 13. During a loading/unloading operation within a tape drive, the scratch resistant material 13 protects the leader from being rubbed with the component of a tape route such as, e.g. a leader guide, a sensor guide or a read/write head. The scratch resistant material 13 is deposited on the leader by using a known method. By its coating, the amount of generated microscopic debris of the leader is minimized, and a failure which is caused by spacing loss between a tape and a head is reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to tape readers for magnetic tape recording. More specifically, the present invention relates to tape readers coated with a thin layer of protective material to prevent scratches and damage experienced by the reader during insertion / removal of a cartridge.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Recent advances in digital information technology (e.g., multimedia, the World Wide Web, etc.) and the resulting large number of applications and data files have necessitated increased storage capacity, especially for public records or "backup". Is greatly increased. Tape drive applications are also expanding due to their storage capacity, compactness and portability. A typical single reel magnetic tape drive receives a housing, a base plate, a take-up reel, a take-up reader mounted on the take-up reel, a read / write head, a motor, control circuitry, and a tape cartridge. And an opening defined in the housing.

[0003] A typical tape cartridge includes a housing, a supply reel, and a fixed length magnetic storage tape mounted on the supply reel. The cartridge is inserted into a tape drive for storage of desired information, removed from the tape drive, and stored in a secure location. FIG. 1 shows a typical tape cartridge 10 that is typically 4.1 inches square and 1 inch high.

As shown in FIG. 2B, a typical magnetic recording tape has a cartridge reader 11 for fastening.
And a data section 12 for data storage. Both parts are commonly used for polyethylene terephthalate (P
ET). Typically, one side of the data portion 12 is coated with a magnetic recording material and the other side is a non-stick "backside coating".
Is made. The length and thickness of the data section 12 may be changed depending on the storage capacity, and the data section 12 may be mounted on the same supply reel. For example, Quantum DLT Tape III has a data portion of about 1170 feet and a thickness of about 0.5 milliinch, resulting in 10 GB of formatted storage. On the other hand, Quantum D
LT Tape IV has a data portion of about 1780 feet and a thickness of about 0.3 milliinches, resulting in 35 GB of formatted storage.

[0005] The reader 11 shown in detail in FIG.
It is about 12 inches long and has a relatively high rigidity because the cross-sectional thickness is generally greater than the thickness of the tape section. For example, in a Quantum DLT tape III, the cross section thickness of the reader is about 1.5 milliinch while the cross section thickness of the data section is about 0.5 milliinch. The reader 11 is seamlessly attached to one end of the data section 12 by suitable adhesive means, and the other end of the data section 12 is attached to and mounted on a hub whose axial direction is defined about the supply reel. Rolled around.
As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the leader 11 includes a cut-out area 16 at the distal end for engagement with the take-up leader.

[0006] A typical magnetic read / write head includes one or more raised strips or supports, over which the tape media passes. Each support surface has a record transducer (ie, a record or write head) for writing information (ie, bits of data) to tape or a read transducer (ie, a read or read head) for reading information from the tape. The transducer is embedded. An embedded recording transducer creates a magnetic field near a small gap in the core of the recording transducer, whereby information is stored on the magnetic tape as it flows over the support surface. Conversely, the regenerative transducer detects a magnetic field near the surface of the magnetic tape near the small gap as the medium flows over the support surface.

Typically, there is a microscopic gap between the transducer core gap and the recording medium. This gap is
It reduces magnetic field coupling between the recording transducer being written and the tape, and the reproducing transducer being read and the tape. This magnetic field coupling decreases exponentially as the distance between the tape and the support increases and as the recording density increases. Therefore, it is desirable to maintain contact between the tape and the core of the transducer, specifically the core gap, and to minimize "spacing loss".

In operation, when the tape cartridge 10 is inserted into the tape drive, the take-up leader is fastened to the cartridge leader 11 and pulls the tape from the supply reel to carry it to the take-up reel. When taking out the cartridge, the take-up leader is `` disengaged '' from the cartridge leader,
The data section 12 and the cartridge reader 11 are returned into the cartridge. The process of pinning / uncoupling the take-up and cartridge readers involves mating / un-mating the reader, which is assigned to the same assignee, which is incorporated herein by reference. It is described in detail in US patent application Ser. No. 08 / 666,854.

During the process of inserting and removing a cartridge from the drive, the cartridge leader 11 follows the tape path 19 as shown in FIG.
The tape path is defined by the tape roller guide 24 and the read / write head 23. As shown in FIG.
The relative stiffness of the cartridge leader 11 results in contact and friction between the cartridge leader 11 and the leader guide 22, read / write head 23, and sensor guide 27 (contact points are indicated at 25).
Because these components tend to be formed of a material that is harder than the cartridge leader 11 material, such contact generally results in microscopic debris of the leader material. When the insertion / removal operation is repeated, generally, the fragments of the reader are carried to the data section 12 and finally to the read / write surface of the read / write head 23. This leads to undesired loss of spacing between the head and the media, leading to read, write and calibration failures.

The present invention provides a tape reader that minimizes contamination to the read / write head by having a coating of a scratch resistant material that minimizes debris from scratching the reader.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a tape reader coated with a thin layer of a scratch resistant material. Coated tape readers provide an economically advantageous means for reducing leader scratching and associated debris that occurs during cartridge insertion / ejection operations. This scratch resistant reader reduces read, write or calibration failures due to loss of spacing between the read / write core and the media.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a coating of a scratch resistant material on one side of a cartridge leader of a magnetic tape cartridge. The scratch resistant material is
Prevents debris from forming as a result of the reader contacting components of the tape path, for example, the reader guide, sensor guide, and read / write head.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a thickness of the scratch resistant material such that the relative stiffness of the leader does not change.

The above and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following detailed description and a review of the various drawings.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention described herein relates to tape readers and the use of tape readers in tape drive cartridges and tape drives. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and / or process steps have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a tape drive.
The components including the tape cartridge 10 typified by the supply reel 21 are particularly important for the present invention. As described above, the tape path 19 is defined by the plurality of tape guide rollers 24 and the read / write head 23.

Each tape guide roller 24 is rotatably mounted on the tape drive and is designed to minimize tape lateral movement (LTM) as the tape flows through the read / write head 23. Essentially, each tape guide roller 24 is a machined cylinder. Each roller 2
4 includes a stem, a tape support surface, and at least one flange for contacting and guiding a longitudinal edge of the tape. US Patents 5,414,585 and 5,173,82 assigned to the same assignee.
No. 8 describes the preferred embodiment of the tape guide roller 24 in more detail. The contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

As shown in FIG. 3, the leader guide 22 is an extension member attached to the tape drive base and very close to the tape guide roller 24, and prevents the tape from coming off the tape path 19. . Typically, the leader guide 22 is made of a polycarbonate material. However, it should be understood that other suitable materials may be used. A sensor guide 27 is also mounted on the tape drive base and is adjacent to the take-up reel 26 and is defined at a predetermined location along the tape 12 to indicate the beginning / end of the tape 12, a tape end (EOT). ) And an optical sensor for identifying the beginning of the tape (BOT).

Motors 50 and 51 (shown by dotted lines) drive supply reel 21 and take-up reel 26, respectively. Proper balancing of the opposing torques of the two motors creates the necessary tensile stress and also the movement of the tape into and out of the cartridge 10.

In one preferred embodiment, the present invention is shown in FIG. 4, wherein the cartridge leader 11 is coated with a thin layer 13 of a scratch resistant material. Preferably, the scratch-resistant material is sufficiently resistant to repeated contact with the components of the tape path, without scratching or peeling. At the same time, preferably the scratch resistant material does not change the relative stiffness of the leader. By way of example, a layer of acrylic resin having a cross-sectional thickness of about 2 μm is sufficiently resistant to scratching and still allows the reader 11 to maintain the same relative rigidity / flexibility. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the scratch resistant material can be applied to the tape by known methods similar to those used to apply magnetic and backside coatings to the tape. For example, gravure roll coating is a method used to apply magnetic materials to recording tapes, as described in detail in Finn Jorgensen, "The Complete Handbuffer for Magnetic Recording.
ook of Magnetic Recording) ", 4th edition. Note that the actual thickness of the scratch-resistant material will depend on the type of scratch-resistant material used, the amount of additional stiffening that the reader can tolerate, and other such factors.

The dimensions of the cartridge leader 11 and the take-up leader are generally such that they extend in length over the entire tape path when clamped. Due to the relative rigidity of the leader 11 and the manner in which the leader is wound on the supply reel 21, the leader 11 separates from the tape roller 24 during the insertion / ejection process, as shown in FIG. It may come into contact with the reader guide 22 and the sensor guide 27. Without the scratch-resistant material, this repeated contact would cause microscopic debris from the reader. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, the surface of the reader that contacts the components of the tape path is coated with a scratch resistant material as shown in FIG. Alternatively, both sides of the reader may be coated with a scratch resistant material.

In experiments performed by the inventor of the present invention, with the use of a scratch-resistant cartridge reader, the rate of read or calibration failures increased from one out of about 2000 insertion / ejection cycles to about 10,10. It is reduced to once every 000 times.

The present invention provides significant benefits and advantages for tape library applications where multiple cartridges are constantly inserted into and removed from the same drive.

[0024] Those skilled in the art will appreciate, in light of the above description of the preferred embodiment, that numerous modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, which is more particularly pointed out in the appended claims. And modifications will be readily apparent. The description and disclosure herein is illustrative only and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, which is more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a tape cartridge according to the prior art, including the cartridge leader of FIG. 2 (a).

FIG. 2A is a front plan view of a portion of a prior art cartridge reader, and FIG. 2B is a side view of a portion of a prior art tape and cartridge reader.

3 is a schematic plan view of a tape path of a tape drive according to the prior art, including the cartridge reel of the tape cartridge of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a cartridge leader and tape in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Cartridge reader 12 Data section 13 Resistive material

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] June 4, 1999 (1999.6.4)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Name of invention

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

Patent application title: Tape cartridge, extension tape, cartridge tape data storage and retrieval subsystem, and method for minimizing damage to a leader section within a tape cartridge

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. One of a plurality of types of magnetic recording tapes
A tape cartridge for supplying one to a tape cartridge data storage subsystem, comprising: a housing; a rotatable reel mounted within the housing; and the plurality of types of magnetic recording mounted on the rotatable reel. A first end of one of the tapes and a leader mounted at a second end of the tape;
The tape cartridge, wherein the leader portion is coated with a scratch-resistant material. 2. The tape cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the scratch-resistant material is an acrylic resin. 3. The leader portion includes two surfaces, one of which is coated with a scratch-resistant material.
The tape cartridge according to claim 1. 4. The thickness of the scratch resistant material is approximately 2
3. The tape cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the tape cartridge has a diameter of μm. 5. An extension tape comprising a data portion and a leader portion attached to an end of the data portion, wherein the leader portion is coated with a scratch resistant material. 6. The extension tape according to claim 5, wherein the data part is coated with a magnetic material. 7. A cartridge tape data storage and retrieval subsystem for recording digital user data on a formatted data storage tape and for reproducing from the formatted data storage tape, comprising: a base plate; A take-up reel rotatably mounted, a take-up leader mounted on the take-up reel, means for rotating the take-up reel, and a tape cartridge, wherein the tape cartridge comprises a housing, A rotatable reel mounted within the housing, a first end of a data storage tape secured to a hub, and a cartridge leader mounted at a second end of the data storage tape; The cartridge leader is coated with a scratch resistant material. Cartridge tape data storage and retrieval subsystem. 8. A method of minimizing damage to a leader portion in a tape cartridge including a tape portion and a leader portion, the method comprising: coating the leader portion with a scratch-resistant material. How to minimize damage to the reader.