Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi Maxell, Limited

Hitachi Video Engineering, Incorporated

Exabyte Corporation

Hitachi Maxwell, Ltd.

Hitachi Engineering Ltd

Hidekazu Takeda

Kenmei Masuda

Kenji Ogiro

Hikaru Mizutani

Nobuyuki Kaku

Yoshimi Maehara

Masao Iwakura

Ikuo Nishida

Yoshiharu Yamashita

Kyuichirou Nagai

Tatsumi Nishijima

Mikihisa Inoue

Tetsuo Itou

Motonori Ohmori

Koji Iyota

Nobuo Masuoka

Atsushi Inoue

Shigeru Yamazaki

Shinya Fujimori

Fukuyasu Abe

Kenkichi Inada

Toshio Tsuchiya

Kuniaki Hirayama

Akihisa Obata

Kuniako Hirayama

Hiroaki Ono

Takashi Yoshimaru

Katsuyuki Watanabe

Kazuo Sakai

Fumio Takeda

Atsuo Osawa

Makoto Ibe

Noboru Katohno

Kazuyuki Kodama

Seiji Ono

Kouhei Takita

Tomochika Yamashita

Tomoki Shoji

Shouzou Yokoo

Toshio Osada

Yoshio Uemura

Maki Furui

Toshihiko Imachi

Hisashi Ichikawa

Mitsuji Aman

Masahiko Fujishiro

Toshihiro Koyama

Kiyokazu Watanabe

Masashi Ueda

Yosiharu Yamasita

Naoko Tsuchiya

A recording condition and a dubbing condition of a desired program that is to be broadcast are designated by using a remote controller. These conditions are stored in the information storage unit. In accordance with the recording condition, a controller permits a tuner to receive a program for which unattended recording is designated, and to record the program on an HDD. When a DVD is set in a dubbing unit and the dubbing operation is instructed by using the remote controller, a recorded program for which a dubbing condition stored in the information storage unit is applied can be dubbed. Then, the information for this program is displayed on a monitor so as to confirm the program and the dubbing condition, and to examine or correct CM skip if the CM skip is included in the dubbing condition. Thereafter, the dubbing operation is performed.

Recorder equipped with dubbing function

According to the invention, techniques for cleaning a rotary magneto-resistive head. Embodiments according to the invention are especially useful in tape drive systems, and the like. Embodiments can provide methods and apparatus for cleaning contaminant from rotary magneto-resistive heads while guarding against damage to the head from excess cleaning, and the like. Specific embodiments can control the rotational speed of a rotary magneto-resistive head in order to facilitate cleaning operations. Embodiments include a cleaning device and a control method, and are suited for use in a magneto-resistive head mounted on a rotary cylinder of a computer tape storage unit, for example, although application of the present invention is not limited to such embodiments.

Method and apparatus for cleaning a magneto-resistive head

High reliability magneto-resistive head cleaning system

A drum base according to he invention, on which a drum of a magnetic tape recorder is mounted, comprises a substantially annular frame having a fixing surface to which the drum is fixed; at least one through hole extending through the fixing surface for allowing a screw which is to be threadably attached to a threaded hole formed in the drum to pass therethrough; and a pair of mounting surfaces provided on the fixing surface on which the drum is mounted, the mounting surfaces being located adjacent to the at least one through hole so as to have a symmetrical relationship in a circumferential direction of the annular frame with respect to the at least one through hole and within a range of a diameter dimension of the at least one through hole in a radial direction of the annular frame.

Drum base on which a drum of a magnetic tape recorder is mounted

A magnetic tape cartridge includes a casing having a tape chamber defined therein for accommodating a reeled magnetic recording tape and, also, box arms protruding outwardly from a front wall section of the casing so as to leave a loading bay that opens upwardly, frontwardly and downwardly and is thus delimited by upwardly, frontwardly and downwardly oriented open areas. The casing includes a lid assembly for selectively concealing and exposing that portion of magnetic recording tape and including front, top and rear lids operatively linked together. The front and top lids are adapted to selectively open and close the frontwardly and upwardly oriented open areas of the loading bay, respectively, while the rear lid is positioned within the loading bay and adapted to selectively open and close a space delimited between the front and the rear lid. At least first and second, generally cylindrical bosses extend between the top and bottom panels of the casing and are positioned at respective points of intersection between inner side walls of the box arms, which confront the loading bay, and the front wall section so as to partially protrude laterally into the loading bay. Each boss has a positioning hole defined axially therein so as to extend exteriorly through one of the top and bottom walls of the casing and is comprised of upper and lower boss segments aligned axially with each other. The upper boss segment has an outer diameter smaller than that of the lower boss segment.

Magnetic tape cartridge having triple lid assembly

Disclosed in an arrangement to achieve satisfactory head contact by increasing contact face pressure at a head gap and to reduce the change in time of head contact performance in a double azimuth head. Heads in a portion in which a tape is slid are respectively constructed with each head having two different arcs with a radius of curvature R1 in a first area which includes a gap, and with a radius of curvature R2 in a second area which is adjacent to the first area. A transition portion P for transitioning an arc with the radius of curvature R1 and an arc with the radius of curvature R2 is located in the direction of its adjacent head based upon a contact point Q on R1 of a common tangent drawn from an arc forming a periphery of a rotating drum to a circle formed by R1. The relationship between the radiuses of curvature in two areas is set to R1&gt;R2. As the area in which a tape is in contact can be reduced, contact face pressure by the tape on a gap can be increased, satisfactory head contact can be obtained and as a contact area with a tape is wide to some extent, a change in time of contact performance can be reduced.

Rotary head and recording/reading apparatus provided with rotary head

In a rotary head drum of a recording/reproduction apparatus, for smoothly holding a magnetic tape over a guide step provided on a lower drum to guide the magnetic tape, part of a chamfer formed in the guide step is formed as a large chamfer in which a chamfered amount is larger than that of the remaining part of the chamfer. With the provision of the large chamfer, even if the lower edge of the magnetic tape deviates from the guide step when the tape is wound over or unwound from the drum, damages of the magnetic tape can be prevented. Therefore, the position and attitude control of tape withdrawing members can be greatly simplified and the magnetic tape can always run stably while being restricted in its position by the guide step. In the process of machining a tape running surface on the drum, by increasing the feed distance of a blade in the part of the chamfer where the large chamfer is to be formed by chamfering the guide step with a large chamfered amount, in comparison with the feed distance set in the remaining part of the chamfer, the large chamfer and the small chamfer can be both machined at the same time, resulting in simplified machining steps.

Tape guide structure of rotary head drum in recording/reproduction

A cassette loading mechanism for loading either a smaller tape cassette or a larger tape cassette into a recording/reproducing apparatus, having apparatus for causing the large cassette to avoid obstructions in a cassette holder during insertion of the large cassette and of enabling the stable insertion of the larger tape cassette in the cassette holder. The cassette loading mechanism has a cassette holder provided with contact members disposed so as to engage only the larger tape cassette and so as to move members provided on the cassette holder for use with the smaller tape cassette to a retracted position. The member for use with the smaller tape cassette and the contact member are formed in an integral unit to ensure the correct operation of the cassette loading mechanism.

Cassette loading mechanism for recording and playback apparatus

A tape guide device having apertures formed in two tape-winding surfaces of non-rotatable curvature portions. A tape restriction is provided at a connecting portion of the tape guide device interconnecting the curvature portions. A flange is provided on one of the curvature portions for movement along an axis thereof to adjust the height thereof. The flange has an outer diameter greater than that of the one curvature portion. The curvature portions are integrated with each other. According this, an air film is generated between the tape and the tape-winding surfaces by discharging air from the apertures, thereby reducing the friction coefficient between the tape and the tape-winding surfaces to suppress the increase of tape tension. The tape is restricted to fluctuate in the direction of width. Further, the attitude and relative positioning between the curvature portions can be secured with high precision. As a result, the tape load during the tape running is reduced, thereby stabilizing the tape running and prolonging the lifetime of the tape.

Pneumatic static guide for a tape

A tape cartridge provided with a slider member slidably mounted for sliding movement in forward and backward directions at an outer side under surface on the bottom wall of a main casing for closing and opening a pocket, a front lid pivotally connected to the main casing for covering a front face of the main casing, an upper lid for closing the open upper face of the pocket, a front edge of the upper lid being pivotally connected to an upper edge of the front lid through pins, such that when the front lid is pivoted for upward opening, the upper lid is displaced for retraction to a rear side from an open upper face of the pocket in association with the movement of the front lid.

Tape cartridge having a front lid with a covering wall

A tape cassette comprising an insertion opening disposed in a main body case and a detecting optical path, for detecting the leading and rear ends of a tape, interposed between the insertion opening and an optical path window formed in the left and right side walls of the case, wherein a first distinguishing member, rotatably inserted into an upper portion of the insertion opening, is supported to be vertically slidable, and a mechanism for holding the first distinguishing member in each state is disposed between the first distinguishing member and the main body case, thereby to allow a tape deck to have a simple internal construction even though the tape cassette is of a smaller size, and to provide a construction of the detecting opening preferable for detecting cassette information so that the tape cassette can be used in a compatible form.

Tape cassette and magnetic recording/reproducing device

A tape cartridge provided with a slider member slidably mounted for sliding movement in forward and backward directions at an outer side under surface on the bottom wall of a main casing for closing and opening a pocket, a front lid pivotally connected to the main casing for covering a front face of the main casing, an upper lid for closing the open upper face of the pocket, a front edge of the upper lid being pivotally connected to an upper edge of the front lid through pins such that when the front lid is pivoted for upward opening, the upper lid is displaced for retraction to a rear side from an open upper face of the pocket in association with the movement of the front lid.

Opening and closing of a front lid of a tape cartridge

A tape cartridge is arranged so that when an upper lid of a pocket portion of the tape cartridge is in a position for opening the upper side of the pocket portion, the upper lid is positioned above an upper surface of a casing body so that a lower surface of the upper lid faces the upper surface of the casing body through a gap in which a member of a recording/reproduction apparatus for depressing the cartridge can be placed. When the upper lid is in the position for opening the upper side of the pocket, the cartridge depressing member of the recording/reproduction apparatus is placed in the gap to depress the cartridge, whereby the cartridge can be stably depressed to and mounted in a predetermined position in the recording/reproduction apparatus when the cartridge is loaded in the apparatus.

Tape cartridge and recording reproduction apparatus for the tape

A tape system for implementing tape cassettes of variable size which includes both large-sized and small-sized tape cartridges each housing a memory element having a set of terminals for electric connection with corresponding terminals of a tape player, the level at which the terminals of the memory element in the large-sized tape cartridge are positioned and the level at which the terminals of the memory element in the small-sized tape cartridge are positioned are the same level, spaced from a longitudinal mid center line of the length of magnetic tape, intermediate of the width thereof or a reference plane in which a reel support lies.

Tape cartridge system implementing variable sized tape cartridges

Growing community of inventors

Hiratsuka, Japan

Hidekazu Takeda