Kennedy Company

Donald O Rasmussen

William C Chow

Franklin J Davio

In a magnetic tape drive in which the supply reel is contained within a cartridge, the tape is automatically threaded from the supply reel within the cartridge past a magnetic head assembly to the take-up reel by a vacuum source coupled via apertures in the hub of the take-up reel to a generally enclosed continuous flowpath extending between the supply and take-up reels. The vacuum source causes air to flow into the cartridge through air inlet ports and around the opposite sides of the supply reel to an opposite tape exit port communicating with the flowpath so as to pull the leading end of a length of magnetic tape wound on the supply reel through the flowpath and onto the take-up reel. The supply reel is initially rotated in a second direction to ensure that the length of magnetic tape is completely wound thereon, following which the supply reel is rotated in an opposite first direction to enable the leading end of the length of tape to be picked off the supply reel and fed into the flowpath to the take-up reel. The take-up reel is rotated in a second direction opposite the first direction. The tape cartridge has a door in the housing thereof which closes over the tape exit port when the cartridge is removed from the magnetic tape drive.

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Arcadia, CA, United States of America

Donald O Rasmussen