International Business Machines Corporation

Adolfo M Guzman

Paul Y Hu

Alex Irwin Panasiuk

Loyal Keith Whitted

Joe La Garcia

Howard E Van Winkle

Arthur F Sanford

A head guide assembly of a tape device includes a beam for securely mounting a tape head thereon, wherein the tape head is accurately aligned and mounted so as to have both an improved resonance response as well as isolation from external shock or vibrations. A head guide support, made from a super gusseted material, supports the beam and tape head wherein the beam is mounted on a brass base for reducing resonances. The brass base is coupled to the head guide support via a kingpin and wedge clamps for locking the tape head in alignment without affecting the alignment. Additional resonances in a direction of a pitch of the tape head is reduced by further connecting the brass base to the head guide support without distorting the aligned position of the brass base. Shock mounts are provided for floating the head guide assembly from a base of the tape device.

Head guide assembly providing critial alignments and improved resonance

An actuator assembly is provided for controlling the position of a multi-track, magneto-resistive transducer to index across tracks in a track seek mode and to rapidly adjust the position of the transducer in a servo controlled track following mode. The actuator includes a base, a beam spaced from the base and movable relative thereto, opposing upper and lower flexures in parallel planes connecting upper and lower portions of the base with upper and lower ends, respectively, of the beam, and an electromagnetic drive means. Each flexure comprises a constraining member fastened to and substantially covering a plate. The constraining member has a plurality of voids formed therein. In one embodiment, the voids comprise parallel openings extending through the constraining member; in another embodiment, the voids define a honeycomb structure; in still another embodiment, the voids define a corrugated structure. Each flexure also has an inner and an outer end, each of which includes a plurality of spaced apart, flexible, necked extensions projecting beyond a central portion of the constraining member. These necked extensions, to which the base and beam are connected, serve as the hinge points of the flexures to maintain the transducer in precise alignment with the tape without significant skewing.

Actuator assembly for servo-controlled magnetic tape head

A stepping motor mechanism for a rotary device in which one member is indexed linearly and/or rotationally relative to a second rotating member. The indexing member includes at least one portion with a series of equi-distantly spaced ridges and the rotating member includes at least three ferromagnetic members adapted to rotate with the rotating member and spaced from one another, each of the ferromagnetic portions having defined thereon ridges complementary to the ridges on the indexing member but angularly or linearly displaced from one another. A fixed coil and coil carrier is positioned spaced from but adjacent to the ferromagnetic members such that as current is applied to the coils, a magnetic field is induced in the coil carrier and adjacent rotating ferromagnetic member thereby causing the ridges on the adjacent ferromagnetic member to align with the ridges defined on the rotating member.

Growing community of inventors

Tucson, AZ, United States of America

Adolfo M Guzman