The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 17, 1996
Filed:
Aug. 30, 1993
John M Rottenburg, Dublin, CA (US);
Joseph Lin, Cupertino, CA (US);
Robert H Peirce, Del Mar, CA (US);
Richard Milo, Lake Forest, CA (US);
Michael Andrews, Soquel, CA (US);
Conner Peripherals, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
An arcuate scan tape drive for transferring data to and from a data tape, including a base with four side walls and a cover, which base and cover together have a 31/2 inch form factor. Situated within the base and cover is a head carrier assembly for recording data onto and playing back data from the data tape which advances in a longitudinal direction past the head carrier assembly. In one embodiment, the head carrier assembly is provided at an oblique angle with respect to the data tape and the front surface is conically shaped. Thus, during rotation of the head carrier assembly, the recording heads are proximate to the data tape during read or write operations, but are spaced away from the data tape at other times. Also provided within the base is a capstan motor assembly for advancing the data tape, and a cassette positioning mechanism for receiving and securing a data tape cartridge to properly position the tape as it is advanced past the head carrier assembly. The head carrier assembly includes an inside-out spin motor for rotating the head carrier assembly and a pivot motor structure at the rear of the head carrier assembly for pivoting the head carrier assembly in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of advancement of the tape. The spin motor and pivoting structures receive servo signals from a controller so as to continuously adjust the position of the core elements with respect to the data tape so as to align the core elements with the arcuately-shaped data tracks.