Xerox Corporation

Willard J Opocensky

Vittorio R Castelli

Ralph A Hamaker

An apparatus which controls lateral alignment of a belt arranged to move along a predetermined path. The belt is supported by a pivoted roller. A member having a pair of opposed, spaced flanges extending outwardly therefrom is mounted slidably on a shaft extending outwardly from one end of the roller. A spring, contacting the flanged member, resiliently urges one of the flanges into continuous engagement with one side of the belt. Movement of the belt from the predetermined path slides the flanged member so that one of the flanges frictionally rotates a disc interposed therebetween. Rotation of the disc tilts the roller restoring the belt to the predetermined path of movement.

Belt alignment system

Method and apparatus for moving a plurality of transducer heads to and from an operative position adjacent the magnetic surfaces of a plurality of rotating disks in a magnetic disk storage system. The transducer heads are supported on a 'T' Bar attached to a carriage. The transducer heads are loaded or urged towards their respective disk surfaces in pairs of one up (left) and one down (right) or one down (left) and one up (right) by means of a torsion bar. A like plurality of camming elements are mechanically linked with the carriage and are movable radially with the elongated supports to restrain the heads from contact with the disk surfaces until a loading position is reached substantially inward of the circumferences of the disks, after which the camming elements are moved to a withdrawn position and held there by a solenoid-operated latch, thereby allowing the transducer heads to be moved to any desired radial position. The solenoid-operated latch is released on the interruption of electric current to the disk storage system, and a spring then acts to unload the heads from the disk surfaces and to retract both the transducer heads and the camming elements before damage can be sustained by the disk surfaces.

Apparatus and method for loading and unloading transducer heads

The invention relates to a position device which rides over a surface for controlling a cursor over a visual display. The device generates signals indicative of its position to cause the cursor to be displayed on the display at a corresponding position. The device includes a control mechanism that comprises a transport sphere coupled with rotatable shafts which represent the position of the device in terms of Cartesian coordinates. The sphere is in contact with the surface over which the device rides and the rotatable shafts contact the sphere at a position on the sphere approximately 90.degree. from the contact loci of the sphere and the surface.

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Los Angeles, CA, United States of America

Willard J Opocensky