JPH0445144Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a magnetic tape drive device used as an external storage device for computers and the like.

(Prior art) Magnetic tape drives used as external storage devices for computers and the like have been known to use reel-to-reel type magnetic tape as a storage medium. Autoloading is performed by guiding the magnetic tape wound around the tape reel to the take-up tape reel using an air flow.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, such a magnetic tape drive device passes the magnetic tape Tp wound around the tape reel 2 on the supply side fixed to the reel stand 1 which is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown) through the air outlet. 3,
The magnetic tape Tp is fed into the tape passage 6 and guided to the tape reel 7 on the take-up side by air currents blown out from 4 and 5 as shown by the arrows in the figure, thereby loading the magnetic tape Tp. It's becoming like that.

In addition, in such a magnetic tape drive device, the magnetic tape Tp sent out by the airflow is
After the leading end of the tape is sucked into a slit 8 formed on the outer periphery of the tape reel 7 on the winding side, it is guided by a tape guide 9, a guide roller 10, and a capstan roller 11 to form a predetermined tape path. Loading is now complete,
After that, a head shield 1 is placed on the loaded magnetic tape Tp in the middle of the tape path 6.
The magnetic head 12 facing the magnetic head 3 is brought into contact with the magnetic head 12.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) By the way, in the magnetic tape drive device as described above, there is a space in the tape path 6 near the capstan roller 11 located near the tape reel 7 on the winding side. From the above relationship, a large bent portion 6a is formed.

For this reason, there is a problem in that turbulence occurs in the bending portion 6a and the leading end of the magnetic tape Tp cannot be bent smoothly, resulting in a time-consuming loading process and, in some cases, loading becoming impossible.

Another problem was that it was difficult to feed the magnetic tape, which had a hard loading tab attached to its tip.

(Means for solving the problem) The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is possible to reliably and quickly guide the leading edge of the magnetic tape to the tape reel on the winding side during tape loading. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a magnetic tape drive device.

This invention is the first step to achieve this purpose.
As shown in the figure, the magnetic tape Tp wound on the tape reel 20 on the supply side is guided to the tape reel 22 on the take-up side by an air flow formed in the tape passage 21, and tape loading is performed. In the tape drive device, a capstan roller 23 is disposed at the bent portion 21a of the tape passage 21, and an auxiliary roller 24 that can freely come into contact with and separate from the capstan roller 23 is disposed. To provide a magnetic tape drive device characterized in that the magnetic tape Tp is wound between the auxiliary roller 24 and the capstan roller 23 and sent out by rolling the magnetic tape Tp into contact with the capstan roller 23 during loading. It is something.

(Function) According to the magnetic tape drive device configured as described above, the magnetic tape is generated by the capstan roller 23 disposed at the bent portion 21a of the tape path 21 and the auxiliary roller 24 that rolls into contact with the capstan roller 23. In order to wind up the tape Tp and send it out to the tape reel 22 on the take-up side, the magnetic tape Tp is reliably and quickly bent through the bending portion 21a and sent out to the tape reel 22 on the take-up side.

Therefore, with such a magnetic tape drive device, reliable and quick loading can be realized.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the magnetic tape drive device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a state in which the top cover is removed from the case body 25 of the magnetic tape drive device according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the top cover is similarly removed and a portion is cut away. It is.

In this magnetic tape drive device, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a tape reel 20 on the supply side is attached and fixed by the enlarged diameter of an elastic ring 26 and is rotated through a reel stand 27 and a partition wall. An adjacent tape reel 22 on the winding side is provided, and the magnetic tape Tp wound on the tape reel 20 on the supply side is guided to the tape reel 22 on the winding side via a tape passage 21. There is.

Further, the tape passage 21 is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the magnetic head 30 and tape edge sensor 31, on the rising wall 32 of the housing, or on the passage forming members 33, 34, 3.
5 and 36, and this tape passage 2
Air blown out from the ventilation ports 37, 38, and 39 is sent into the interior of the housing 1 to form an air flow as shown by the arrows in FIG.

Furthermore, a capstan roller 23 for running the magnetic tape Tp at a predetermined speed is disposed at a bent portion 21a formed on the exit side of the tape path 21. The auxiliary roller 24 is adapted to be in rolling contact.

That is, the capstan roller 23 and the auxiliary roller 24 are arranged to face each other at all times through the tape passage 21, and during tape loading, the auxiliary roller 24 is inserted into the slot 36a formed in the passage forming member 36. The capstan roller 23 is inserted into the capstan roller 23 and comes into rolling contact with the capstan roller 23.

Note that the width of the auxiliary roller 24 is formed sufficiently thinner than the width of the capstan roller 23 so as not to obstruct the air flow blown out from the air outlet 39.

The auxiliary roller 24 is brought into contact with and separated from the capstan roller 23 by an auxiliary roller drive mechanism as shown in FIG.

That is, this auxiliary roller drive mechanism
a substantially hook-shaped link 41 that can rotate around the
Plunger 4 connected to one end of this link 41
2, and the auxiliary roller 24 is rotatably attached to the other end of the link 41.

A tension coil spring 43 is attached to one end of the link 41, and the tension of the spring 43 urges the auxiliary roller 24 toward the capstan roller 23.

Further, a compression coil spring 44 stronger than the tension coil spring 43 is fitted into the operating rod 42a of the plunger 42, and the compression force of this spring 44 causes the auxiliary roller 24 to move against the capstan roller 23. It is separated from

Then, when the plunger 42 is turned on, the operating rod 42a is pulled and the link 41 becomes free, and this link 41 is pulled by the tension coil spring 42 and rotated counterclockwise, thereby causing the aforementioned auxiliary aid. The roller 24 is in rolling contact with the capstan roller 23.

On the other hand, when the plunger 42 is turned off, the operating rod 42a is moved to the compression coil spring 44.
The link 41 is pushed out by the auxiliary roller 24 to rotate the link 41 clockwise.
is separated from the capstan roller 23.

Further, the plunger 42 is connected to the tape engine sensor 3 which is composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element.
1 detects the passage of the leading end of the magnetic tape Tp and is activated to bring the auxiliary roller 24 into rolling contact with the capstan roller 23.

On the other hand, when the magnetic tape Tp is wound around the tape reel 22 on the take-up side and tension is applied to the magnetic tape Tp, the angle sensor 45 detects the addition of this tension and moves the auxiliary roller 24 to the capstan roller. Separate from 23.

Note that the angle sensor 45 is connected to the guide roller 4.
6 along the guide groove 47, and is attached to a motor 49 that drives a tension arm 48 that moves the magnetic tape Tp along the guide groove 47. It is designed to detect that a predetermined tension has been applied to the magnetic tape Tp.

Further, 50 in the figure is a tape guide, and this tape guide 50, together with the guide roller 46 and capstan roller 23, guides the magnetic tape Tp so that it forms a predetermined tape path.

A slit 51 is formed between the take-up side tape reel 22 and the chassis, and by sucking air into this slit 51, the leading end of the magnetic tape Tp is moved to the take-up side tape reel 22.
It is becoming easier to wrap around.

Next, the loading operation of the magnetic tape drive device configured as described above will be explained.

First, when the tape reel 20 on the supply side is fixed to the reel stand 27 and loading is started, the tape reel 20 on the supply side is intermittently rotated counterclockwise in FIG. Tp is fed out, and then this tape reel 2
0's rotation is stopped.

Further, at the same time as the tape reel 20 rotates, air blowing from the air blowing ports 37, 38, and 39 is started.

Then, the magnetic tape was unwound as described above.
When Tp is guided by the air flow of air blown out from the air outlets 37 and 38 and guided between the tape guide 50 and the guide roller 46, the air flow caused by the air blown out from the other air outlet 39 causes Tp to be The tape path 2 as described above is guided to the right side in FIG.
It reaches 1.

When the leading edge of the magnetic tape Tp passes in front of the tape edge sensor 31, the tape edge sensor 31 detecting this immediately turns on the plunger 42, and at the same time moves the reel stand 27 to the first position.
The tape reel 22 on the winding side is also driven to rotate clockwise intermittently in the clockwise direction in the figure.

As a result, the auxiliary roller 24 is brought into rolling contact with the capstan roller 23 before the leading end of the magnetic tape Tp reaches the bent portion 21a of the tape path 21.

At this time, the capstan roller 23 is rotationally driven in the counterclockwise direction in FIG.

Then, the tip of the magnetic tape Tp is located at tape path 2.
When reaching the bent part 21a of 1, this magnetic tape
The tip of Tp is wound around the capstan roller 24 and the auxiliary roller 23, sent out to the take-up side of the tape reel 22, and smoothly passes through the bent portion 21a.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1, the leading end of the magnetic tape Tp is guided by the air flow from the tape passage 21 and reaches the tape reel 22 on the winding side, and the air is further sucked into the slit 51 formed in the tape reel 22. The tape is guided by the current and wound around the reel hub of the tape reel 22.

Here, the tape reel 20 on the supply side is driven to rotate intermittently, whereas the tape reel 22 on the winding side is driven to rotate continuously.
When the leading end of the magnetic tape Tp is wound around the tape reel 22 on the winding side, a predetermined tension is applied to the magnetic tape Tp.

As a result, the guide roller 46 that guides the magnetic tape Tp is slightly displaced by the tension acting on the magnetic tape Tp.

In this embodiment, this minute displacement is detected by the angle sensor 45 and the plunger 42 is turned off, thereby separating the auxiliary roller 24 from the capstan roller 23.

Thereafter, the guide roller 46 moves along the guide groove 47 as shown by the dashed line in FIG.
As a result, the magnetic tape Tp forms a predetermined tape path and loading is completed.

Then, the magnetic head 30 comes into contact with the magnetic tape Tp and becomes in a state where various data can be recorded and reproduced. In this state, the auxiliary roller 24 is separated from the capstan roller 23, so the magnetic The normal running of the tape Tp is not hindered.

As described above, according to the magnetic tape drive device according to this embodiment, the capstan roller 23 and the auxiliary roller 24 that can freely come into contact with and separate from the capstan roller 23 are provided at the bent portion 21a of the tape path 21, and each of these rollers In order to wind up the magnetic tape Tp by the rollers 23 and 24 and send it out toward the tape reel 22 on the winding side, this bent portion 21a is attached to the magnetic tape.
Tp passes smoothly.

This causes the magnetic tape Tp to move toward the tape path 21.
It is possible to realize quick and reliable loading without any stagnation at the bent portion 21a.

In addition, in this embodiment, the auxiliary roller 24
In this case, the magnetic tape Tp is on the tape reel 2 on the take-up side.
Immediately after wrapping around capstan roller 2
3, the subsequent guide roller 4
6, and the normal running of the magnetic tape Tp after loading is completed.

In this embodiment, the auxiliary roller 24 is separated from the capstan roller 23 after the magnetic tape Tp is wound around the tape reel 22 on the winding side and before the loading is completed. The auxiliary roller 24 may be separated from the capstan roller 23 after the guide roller 46 finishes moving and forms a predetermined tape path.

Further, the movement of the auxiliary roller 24 toward and away from the capstan roller 23, that is, the plunger 4
The on/off timing of 2 may be controlled by something other than the tape edge sensor 31 and angle sensor 45.

(Effects of the invention) As is clear from the above explanation, the present invention provides a capstan roller and an auxiliary roller at the bending part of the tape path, and these rollers wind up the magnetic tape and send it out. It can smoothly pass through the bend and lead to the tape reel on the take-up side, making it possible to achieve quick and reliable loading. There are practical advantages such as improved feeding.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the main parts showing an embodiment of the magnetic tape drive device according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the main parts, and Fig. 3 is an auxiliary roller for moving the auxiliary roller toward and away from the capstan roller. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part showing a roller drive mechanism, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of a main part showing a conventional example. 20...Tape reel on the supply side, 21...Tape passage, 21a...Bending portion, 22...Tape reel on the winding side, 23...Capstan roller, 2
4... Auxiliary roller, Tp... Magnetic tape.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A magnetic tape that performs tape loading by guiding the magnetic tape wound on a tape reel on the supply side to a tape reel on the winding side by an air flow formed in a tape path. In the drive device, a capstan roller is disposed at the bent portion of the tape path, and an auxiliary roller that can freely come into contact with and separate from the capstan roller is disposed, and the auxiliary roller is used to move the capstan roller during tape loading. A magnetic tape drive device characterized in that the magnetic tape is wound between the auxiliary roller and the capstan roller and sent out by rolling the magnetic tape into contact with the roller.