JPH07282568A - Characteristic measuring method for magnetic recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily make a change for optional recording density and to simply measure various characteristics of a magnetic tape by changing belt driving rollers which are different in diametral ratio. CONSTITUTION:A magnetic tape cartridge 1 is used, and an information signal is recorded on its magnetic tape 7 by changing the belt driving rollers 10 which are different in the diametral ratio of a driven part 10B to a belt driving part 10A. By this method, the characteristic measurement is carried out with the changed recording density of the information signal.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to measurement of characteristics of a magnetic recording medium provided in a magnetic recording medium cartridge such as a data cartridge used for data backup of personal computers, office computers, etc. The present invention relates to a characteristic measuring method for a magnetic recording medium, which easily realizes characteristic measurement of a magnetic tape when the recording density of an information signal recorded on the tape is changed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording / reproducing apparatus or a data backup apparatus (hereinafter collectively referred to as a drive apparatus) connected to a main body apparatus such as a personal computer or an office computer is loaded and accumulated in, for example, a memory of the main body of the computer. There is provided a magnetic tape cartridge that sucks up a data signal and records it on a magnetic tape, or supplies the data signal recorded on the magnetic tape to a memory of a main body device to back up the data.

For example, this magnetic tape cartridge is
An upper half member formed in a substantially shallow dish shape with a synthetic resin material such as a polycarbonate resin and a base plate formed with a metal plate such as an aluminum plate are combined to form a cartridge body, and inside the cartridge body, A tape supply reel and a tape take-up reel around which a magnetic tape is wound are rotatably provided, and a tape drive mechanism for driving these tape reels is also incorporated.

The tape drive mechanism is rotatably supported by a support shaft provided upright on the cartridge body, and a part of the outer peripheral surface of the tape drive mechanism is exposed from the cartridge body and receives a rotation transmission from the drive device. The belt driving roller is composed of a driven portion and a belt driving portion formed integrally with the driven portion, and the belt driving portion, and an endless belt wound between the tape supply reel and the tape winding reel. Then, the magnetic tape cartridge is loaded into a drive device for recording an information signal on the magnetic tape or reading the information signal, whereby the belt driving roller is rotationally driven, and the magnetic tape is driven through the endless belt. It

That is, the magnetic tape cartridge is integrated with the belt drive roller on the magnetic tape cartridge side which is in contact with the drive roller by driving the drive roller on the drive device side for driving the magnetic tape cartridge. The formed driven part is rotationally driven. Then, the belt drive unit formed integrally with the belt drive roller drives the endless belt, whereby the tape supply reel and the tape take-up reel are rotationally driven, and the magnetic tape runs.

For example, a recording area for 40 tracks is formed on the magnetic tape, while the recording / reproducing head on the drive device side has a pair of upper and lower gaps, and these recording / reproducing heads are switched to operate these. The information signals are recorded and reproduced by scanning the upper and lower four tracks of the magnetic tape driven bidirectionally by the respective gaps.

The above-mentioned magnetic tape cartridge used exclusively for data backup is generally provided with a 1/4 inch wide magnetic tape, but a slightly wider magnetic tape, for example, a 8 mm wide magnetic tape is used. Therefore, it is considered to increase the storage capacity. This new specification magnetic tape cartridge also uses the so-called 1-inch high specification (height dimension of 1 inch) that is used in general-purpose auxiliary devices for personal computers, so In comparison, although the shape of the tape guide and the hub of the tape reel is different, the shape specifications of the cartridge body are the same.

On the other hand, in the above-mentioned magnetic tape cartridge, a magnetic tape having a coercive force of 44 KA / m to 72 KA / m, which is formed by depositing a magnetic material of iron oxide on the tape material, is adopted. However, recent magnetic tapes are required to have a high recording density for recording more information signals. For example, a magnetic material such as a metal powder is formed on the tape material by vapor deposition to form a coercive force of 120 KA / There has also been proposed a magnetic tape that employs a high-density recording as m.

[0009]

As described above, in the magnetic tape cartridge, various studies have been conducted for increasing the recording density of the information signal on the magnetic tape. In that case, various characteristics of the magnetic tape are obtained. Measurements are being taken. Conventionally, the characteristic measurement of a magnetic tape has been performed using a measuring instrument having a specification suitable for the recording density. That is, since the measuring device is provided with a drive device having a specification adapted to the recording density, it is necessary to modify or newly develop the measuring device such as the circuit and the specification when performing the characteristic measurement based on various recording densities. Become.

Therefore, the development of high recording density is delayed due to so-called setup, which delays the development.
There was also a problem that the cost burden was large.

Therefore, the present invention makes it possible to easily perform the recording densities of information signals at different recording densities on the magnetic recording medium, thereby simplifying and shortening the characteristic measurement of the magnetic recording medium. It has been proposed for the purpose of providing a method for measuring the characteristics of.

[0012]

A method for measuring the characteristics of a magnetic recording medium according to the present invention, which achieves this object, comprises: a reel on which a magnetic recording medium is suspended; and a support shaft erected on the front side of the cartridge body. A large-diameter driven portion, which is rotatably supported and whose outer peripheral surface is partially exposed from the cartridge body and receives rotation transmission from the drive device, and a belt driving portion, which has a smaller diameter than the driven portion, are integrally formed. An endless belt for rotating and driving the formed belt driving roller and the belt driving roller wound between the belt driving portion of the belt driving roller and the supply reel and the take-up reel is rotated. A magnetic recording medium cartridge provided is used.

In this magnetic recording medium cartridge, the belt driving roller having a different diameter ratio between the diameter of the driven portion and the diameter of the belt driving portion is replaced. The magnetic recording medium cartridge uses a belt drive roller in which the diameter ratio of the belt drive unit to the driven unit is 0.75 to 0.33.

[0014]

According to the characteristic measuring method of the magnetic recording medium of the present invention, the information signal is recorded on the magnetic recording medium at different magnetic recording densities by the drive device having the same specifications. Further, in the magnetic recording medium cartridge in which the information signal is recorded at different recording densities, the information signal can be reproduced by being driven by the drive device having the same specifications. Therefore, it is possible to measure the characteristics of the magnetic recording medium at various recording densities.

[0015]

EXAMPLES Specific examples of the method for measuring the characteristics of a magnetic recording medium according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. The magnetic tape cartridge 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 is used in the measuring method of the embodiment. This magnetic tape cartridge 1 is equipped with a magnetic tape 7, is connected to a main body device such as a computer device, and is used by being loaded in a drive device 30 for sucking up or feeding back a data signal stored in a memory device on the main body device side. It The magnetic tape cartridge 1 includes an upper half member 3 formed of a synthetic resin material such as a polycarbonate resin in a substantially shallow dish shape, and an aluminum plate or an aluminum alloy plate combined with an open lower portion of the upper half member 3. A cartridge main body by integrally combining and coupling a base plate 4 which is formed of a metal plate such as a lower half member with a set screw 4A or a mounting stud integrally provided on the inner surface of the upper half member 3 (not shown). 2 are configured.

As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of support shafts 5A and 5A are spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction at a substantially central portion of the base plate 4.
B is erected, and these support shafts 5A and 5B have 8
A tape supply reel 6A and a tape take-up reel 6B, each having a magnetic tape 7 having a width of mm, are rotatably supported.

Each of the tape supply reel 6A and the tape take-up reel 6B is composed of a lower reel member 6D integrally formed with a reel hub, and an upper reel member 6C combined with the lower reel member 6D. The start end and the end of 7 are fixed to the reel hub by unillustrated clampers. The magnetic tape 7 fed from the tape supply reel 6A is rotatably arranged on supporting shafts respectively erected at both corners on the front side of the base plate 4 and surrounds a retaining flange at the upper edge. Tape guide roller 8 protruding around
A and 8B and a guide pin 8C that is erected on the front side of the base plate 4 are hung up so that they travel along the front surface of the cartridge body 2 as shown in FIG. Being rolled up.

The magnetic tape cartridge 1 is provided with a tape drive mechanism for driving the magnetic tape 7 fed from the tape supply reel 6A to the tape take-up reel 6B. This tape drive mechanism includes an endless belt 9, a belt drive roller 10 around which the endless belt 9 is stretched, and a pair of belt guide rollers 11.
It is composed of A and 11B. Belt drive roller 1
Reference numeral 0 denotes a driven portion 10A which is formed of an elastic material having abrasion resistance, and which has a driving roller 31 on the side of a drive device 30 to be described later in rolling contact therewith to receive rotation transmission.
Are formed so as to project around the circumference. Further, the belt driving roller 10 is rotatably mounted on a support shaft 12 which is erected in a substantially central portion on the front side of the base plate 4.

The belt guide rollers 11A and 11B are also made of an elastic material having abrasion resistance, and a pair of support shafts 1 provided upright at both corners on the rear side of the base plate 4.
3A and 13B are rotatably mounted on respective shafts. The endless belt 9 is stretched around the belt driving roller 10 and the belt guide rollers 11A and 11B, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the belt guide rollers 11A and 11B are connected to the tape supply reel 6A and the tape take-up reel 6B.
By contacting the magnetic tape 7 wound so as to give a predetermined tension, and by being wound around the belt drive roller 10 via the central space of the tape supply reel 6A and the tape take-up reel 6B, The cartridge body 2 travels along a substantially convex traveling path.

On one corner side of the front face portion 2B of the cartridge main body 2, notches 14A and 14B provided at front side edge portions of the upper half member 3 and the base plate 4 are provided.
The recording / reproducing opening 1 into which the recording / reproducing head 32 of the drive device 30 in which the magnetic tape cartridge is loaded enters.
4 are configured. The recording / reproducing opening 14 is normally closed by a lid member 15 that forms a part of the front surface 2B of the cartridge body 2.

The lid member 15 is rotatably supported in a cantilever state by inserting a support shaft 16 erected at the front corner portion of the base plate 4 into a bearing portion formed on one side, and is also supported. A torsion spring 17 attached to the shaft 16 urges the recording / reproducing opening 14 in a closing direction. In addition, a cam portion 15A projecting into an insertion guide recess 28 formed in a side surface portion 2C of the cartridge body 2 described later is integrally formed on a side surface portion of the lid member 15 formed of an opaque synthetic resin material on the side of the support portion. Has been formed.

Further, a convex portion 3A is provided on the front surface of the upper half member 3 so as to correspond to the tape width identifying portion 15B. As shown in FIG.
In the state in which the cartridge is closed, dust or the like is not contained in the cartridge body 2.
It is configured not to enter inside the.

On the front surface of the upper half member 3, that is, the front surface 2B of the cartridge body 2, there is provided a rectangular drive opening 18 for exposing a part of the peripheral surface of the belt drive roller 10 to the outside. There is. As will be described later, when the magnetic tape cartridge 1 is loaded into the drive device 30 and a recording / reproducing operation is performed, a drive roller 31 on the drive device 30 side that drives the above-mentioned tape drive mechanism is inserted into the drive opening 18. Enters, and the driven portion 10A formed on the peripheral surface of the belt driving roller 10 comes into contact with the driven portion 10A to transmit rotation.

The magnetic tape cartridge 1 is provided with an erroneous recording prevention mechanism in order to prevent the valuable information signal recorded on the magnetic tape 7 from being accidentally erased. The erroneous recording prevention mechanism is composed of an erroneous recording detection hole 19 and an erroneous recording prevention member 22 which are provided on the opposite side of the lid member 15. That is, the erroneous recording prevention portion 24 of the erroneous recording prevention member 22 is provided on the front surface portion 2B of the cartridge body 2.
Is provided with a slide groove 21 that slides, and is positioned in the slide groove 21 to detect an erroneous recording detection hole 19
Has been established.

This erroneous recording prevention mechanism is composed of the erroneous recording prevention member 2
In the state in which 2 closes the erroneous recording detection hole 19, the information signal can be recorded on the magnetic tape 7. Further, in the erroneous recording prevention mechanism, the erroneous recording prevention member 22 has the erroneous recording detection hole 19
In the state where is opened, the recording of the information signal on the magnetic tape 7 is blocked.

The drive device 30 in which the magnetic tape cartridge 1 configured as described above is loaded and driven,
As described above, the driving roller 31 for driving the tape driving mechanism, the recording / reproducing head 32 for recording an information signal on the magnetic tape 7 and reading the recorded information signal, and the like are provided, but these members are provided. Is disposed inside the cartridge insertion opening 36, as shown in FIGS.

The lid member 15 closing the recording / reproducing opening 14 by inserting the magnetic tape cartridge 1 through the cartridge insertion opening 36 of the drive unit 30 by the above-described operation is the insertion guide recess. The cam portion 15A projected to 28A abuts against the insertion guide convex portion 37A that relatively engages with the insertion guide concave portion 28A, so that the support shaft 16 serves as a fulcrum against the elastic force of a torsion spring (not shown). It is gradually rotated clockwise.

As described above, the magnetic tape cartridge 1
On the other hand, the recording / reproducing head 32 enters from the recording / reproducing opening 14 which is opened by rotating the lid member 15 and comes into contact with the magnetic tape 7. Further, the drive roller 31 enters through the drive opening 18 and comes into contact with the driven portion 10A of the belt drive roller 10 with the magnetic tape 7 and the endless belt 9 interposed therebetween. Thereafter, for example, when a recording / reproducing operation is performed on the drive device 30 side, the belt drive roller 10 is rotated clockwise via the drive roller 31 rotating counterclockwise as shown by the arrow in FIG. ,
The rotation of the belt driving roller 10 also rotates the endless belt 9 as a whole in the clockwise direction.

Therefore, the tape supply reel 6 brought into contact with the endless belt 9 with a predetermined tension.
A rotates counterclockwise to wind the wound magnetic tape 7, and the tape take-up reel 6B winds the wound magnetic tape 7. Then, the magnetic tape 7 running along the front side surface portion 3B of the cartridge main body 2 is exposed to the inside of the cartridge main body 2 from the recording / reproducing opening 14 by the recording / reproducing head 32 which is in contact with the magnetic tape 7 and outputs the information signal. Recording or reading is performed.

The drive device 30 has a switching mechanism (not shown) for moving the recording / reproducing head 32 up and down in the width direction of the magnetic tape 7. Therefore, the recording / reproducing head 32 is switched and moved according to the running direction of the magnetic tape 7 which is driven bidirectionally between the tape supply reel 6A and the tape take-up reel 6B, and the upper track portion and the lower track of the magnetic tape 7 are moved. The unit and the unit are selectively scanned to record or read the information signal.

By the way, the above-mentioned data cartridge 1
In the above, by changing the rotation ratio of the drive roller 31 of the drive device 30 and the belt drive roller 10 that is rotationally driven by the contact of the drive roller 31 with each other,
The running speed of the magnetic tape 7 is changed. In the magnetic tape cartridge 1, the traveling speed of the magnetic tape 7 is changed by changing the diameter ratio between the driven portion 10A of the belt driving roller 10 and the belt driving portion 10B. The magnetic characteristics of the magnetic head 32 on the drive device 30 side,
If the reproduction characteristic is constant, the recording speed of the information signal to be recorded or reproduced is changed by changing the running speed of the magnetic tape 7. In this case, if the traveling speed of the magnetic tape 7 is high, the recording density of the information signal is low, and conversely, if the traveling speed of the magnetic tape 7 is low, the recording density of the information signal is high.

The present invention makes it possible to easily utilize the characteristics of the magnetic tape cartridge 1 to easily measure the characteristics of the magnetic tape 7. That is, in the belt driving roller 10 shown in FIG. 6, the diameter ratio (10B / 10A) between the belt driving portion 10B that rubs against the endless belt 9 and the driven portion 10A that is rotationally transmitted by the driving roller 31 of the drive device 30. Is changed to change the running speed of the tape to change the recording density of the information signal recorded on the magnetic tape 7.

Due to the characteristics of the data cartridge 1 described above, a magnetic tape cartridge 1 driven by this drive device 30 is used as a driven part by using a drive device having a specification of a running speed of the magnetic tape 7 of 53 ips and a recording density of 45 Kfci. The diameter of 10A is fixed at 22.6 mm, and the diameter of the belt driving unit 10B is changed from 17 mm to 7.65.
The belt driving roller 10 which is sequentially changed to mm
When it is replaced with 2, the recording density of the information signal recorded on the magnetic tape 7 in the magnetic tape cartridge 1 changes as shown in Table 1.

[0034]

[Table 1]

Thus, the diameter ratio of the driven portion 10A of the belt driving roller 10 and the belt driving portion 10B is 0.3.
By changing from 385 to 0.7522, the recording density of the information signal recorded on the magnetic tape 7 is such that the running speed of the magnetic tape 7 is 53 ips and the recording density is 45 Kfc.
i drive device with the same specifications, 100 Kf
It can be changed from ci to 45 Kfci.

The running speed of the magnetic tape 7 is 70 ip.
s, the recording density is 50.8 Kfci, and the magnetic tape cartridge 1 driven by this drive device 30 is used in the same manner as described above.
When the diameter of the driven portion 10A is constant at 22.6 mm, and the diameter of the belt driving portion 10B is changed from 17 mm to 7.65 mm in sequence, the belt driving roller 10 is replaced by the support shaft 12, and Tape cartridge 1
The recording density of the information signal recorded on the magnetic tape 7 in FIG.

[0037]

[Table 2]

Thus, the diameter ratio of the driven portion 10A of the belt driving roller 10 and the belt driving portion 10B is 0.3.
By changing from 385 to 0.7522, the recording density of the information signal recorded on the magnetic tape 7 is such that the running speed of the magnetic tape 7 is 70 ips and the recording density is 50.8K.
It can be changed up to fci.

In FIG. 7, the ordinate represents the diameter ratio of the driven portion 10A of the belt driving roller 10 and the belt drive 10B, and the abscissa represents the recording density (Kfci) of the magnetic tape 7, and the above-mentioned measured values are plotted. FIG. In the figure, line A indicates that the running speed of the magnetic tape 7 is 53 ip.
s, drive device 30 having a recording density of 45 Kfci
And the line B shows the measured value using a drive device 30 having specifications of a traveling speed of the magnetic tape 7 of 70 ips and a recording density of 50.8 Kfci. As is clear from the figure, the driven portion 10 of the belt driving roller 10 is
As the diameter ratio between A and the belt driving unit 10B increases, the recording density of the information signal on the magnetic tape 7 decreases.

From the above results, for example, a case will be described in which the frequency characteristics of five types of magnetic tapes 5A to 5E are measured when the magnetic densities are changed, and the applicability is determined. In this case, magnetic tape cartridges 1A to 1E provided with five types of magnetic tapes 5A to 5E are prepared, and a plurality of belt driving rollers 10 having different diameter ratios of the driven portion 10A and the belt driving portion 10B are provided. Be prepared. Further, as the drive device 30 for driving these magnetic tape cartridges 1A to 1E, a drive device having a specification of a traveling speed of the magnetic tape 7 of 70 ips and a recording density of 50.8 Kfci is used.

Each of the magnetic tape cartridges 1A to 1E has a driven portion 10A and a belt driving portion 10A.
The belt drive roller 10 whose diameter ratio with B is changed from 0.3385 to 0.7522 is sequentially replaced and the frequency characteristic is measured. Therefore, by this measurement operation, it becomes possible to easily measure the frequency characteristics according to the magnetic densities of the five types of magnetic tapes 5A to 5E with the drive device 30 having the same specifications. FIG. 8 shows the results of this measurement, where the vertical axis represents output (mV) and the horizontal axis represents recording density (Kfci).
Output power measurements are plotted as a function of magnetic density from 5E to 5E.

In the method of measuring the characteristics of the magnetic recording medium according to the present embodiment, the diameter of the driven portion 10A is changed while the diameter of the belt driving portion 10B of the belt driving roller 10 is kept constant to change the diameter of the belt driving roller. Although the diameter ratio of 10 is changed, the diameter ratio of the belt drive roller 10 may be changed by changing the diameter of the driven portion 10A, for example, without being limited to the method described above.

According to the above-mentioned characteristic measuring method of the magnetic recording medium of the present invention, the diameter ratio of the belt driving roller is set to 0.
The recording density of the information signal recorded on the magnetic recording medium is changed to 1.00 by arbitrarily changing it within the range of 75 to 0.33.
It has become possible to set an arbitrary range of up to 2.22 times. Therefore, the characteristic measurement can be easily performed without changing the drive device of the measuring instrument, and the magnetic tape most suitable for the magnetic tape cartridge can be sufficiently examined.

[0044]

As described in detail above, according to the characteristic measuring method of the magnetic recording medium of the present invention, the belt driving roller having a different diameter ratio of the diameter of the belt driving portion to the diameter of the driven portion is exchanged. By doing so, it became possible to arbitrarily change the recording density of the magnetic tape. Therefore, the recording density can be easily changed to an arbitrary recording density without being restricted by the drive device of the measuring instrument used for various characteristics measurement, and various characteristics of the magnetic tape can be easily measured. .

Therefore, it is not necessary to modify the drive unit of the measuring instrument or to design and manufacture a new measuring instrument, so that the development period can be extremely shortened and the development efficiency can be greatly improved. Further, since only the belt driving roller of the magnetic tape cartridge is changed and so-called replacement of parts is required, the development cost is extremely effective.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view for explaining a schematic configuration of a magnetic tape cartridge and a drive device used in a characteristic measuring method for a magnetic recording medium according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the magnetic tape cartridge.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the magnetic tape cartridge.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional view showing a state where the magnetic tape cartridge is mounted in a drive device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an essential part in a state where the magnetic tape cartridge is loaded in a drive device.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a belt driving roller and a driving roller included in the magnetic tape cartridge.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between the diameter ratio and the recording density when the driven part of the belt drive roller and the belt drive part of the magnetic tape cartridge have different diameter ratios.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a relationship between a detected output and a recording density when a belt driving roller included in the magnetic tape cartridge is changed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 magnetic tape cartridge 2 cartridge body 3 upper half member 4 base plate 6A tape supply reel 6B tape take-up reel 7 magnetic tape 9 endless belt 10 belt drive roller 10A belt drive unit 10B driven unit 14 recording / playback opening unit 15 lid member 18 drive Opening 22 Wrong recording prevention member 30 Drive device 31 Driving roller 32 Recording / reproducing head 33 Wrong recording prevention member 36 Magnetic tape cartridge loading opening

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A reel around which a magnetic recording medium is hung, and a support shaft rotatably supported on a front side of a cartridge body and a part of an outer peripheral surface of the cartridge body being exposed from the cartridge body. A belt driven roller integrally formed with a driven portion having a large diameter that receives the rotation transmission of the belt driven portion and a belt driving portion having a diameter smaller than the driven portion, the belt driving portion of the belt driving roller, the supply reel, and Using a magnetic recording medium cartridge provided with an endless belt that rotates and drives a reel by rotating a belt drive roller that is wound around a take-up reel, the diameter ratio between the driven part and the belt drive part is By changing the different belt drive rollers and recording the information signal on the magnetic recording medium, it is possible to measure the characteristics while changing the recording density of the information signal. A method for measuring characteristics of a magnetic recording medium, characterized by: 2. The magnetic recording medium according to claim 1, wherein a magnetic tape cartridge provided with a belt driving roller having a diameter ratio of the belt driving portion to the driven portion of 0.75 to 0.33 is used. Method of measuring characteristics of.