Hewlett-Packard Company

Thomas J Angellotti

Warren S Beitscher

Devin A Bloom

Fred O Stephens

Steven L Peace

Steve C Jackson

A tape drive chassis with isolation mounting features in the back half of the chassis that enable the chassis to be mounted in a computer bay that is twisted or has misaligned mounting features. The isolation mounting features of the chassis are integral with the chassis and designed to deflect and conform to torque in the computer bay. The isolation mounting features include travel limit stops that limit the distance that the isolation mounting features can be bent. The isolation mounting features ensure that the drive chassis remains planar even if the host computer bay may be twisted or have mounting holes that are not co-planar.

Tape chassis with integrated isolation mounting features

A magnetic head positioning mechanism for a tape backup device includes a carriage carrying the head that has an opening with a substantially conical surface, a guide rod extending through the carriage that restricts translation of the carriage to motion along a predetermined axis, a lead screw extending into the opening in the carriage that is driven by a stepper motor via a gear train, a follower nut threaded on the upper portion of the lead screw for translating the carriage and head along the axis as the lead screw is rotated by the stepper motor, and a spring for urging the carriage into contact with the follower nut. The base end of the lead screw has a conical indentation that contacts and rotates on the rounded end of a protrusion extending from the chassis. The relative positions of this indentation and protrusion can be reversed, if desired. The follower nut includes a rounded (or spherical) surface for contacting the conical surface within the opening in the carriage. The combination of the conical indentation at the base of the lead screw and the rounded surface on the follower nut at the upper portion of the lead screw allows the lead screw to pivot and self-align. This relaxes the required tolerances for alignment and simplifies assembly of the device.

Lead screw positioning mechanism with each end of the lead screw

A guidance channel for a tape cartridge and a matching guide for a tape drive chassis to prevent a new design cartridge from being inserted into an old design drive but permitting new design drives to accept new design cartridges or old design cartridges. The cartridge guidance channel is wide at the front of the tape cartridge and narrow at the back of the tape cartridge. Tape cartridges having a narrow channel at the back end cannot be inserted into a drive chassis having a guide with a uniform wide width. The drive chassis guide is narrow at the front and wide at the back. The drive chassis guide can mate with tape cartridge channels having a uniform wide width or with tape cartridge channels having a narrow channel at the back end.

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Fort Collins, CO, United States of America

Thomas J Angellotti