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:
Feb. 16, 1999
Filed:
Jan. 21, 1997
Erik Solhjell, Oslo, NO;
Tandberg Data ASA, Oslo, NO;
Abstract
An apparatus for sensing the position of a tape edge of a magnetic tape sliding against a magnetic head which includes a light transmitter positioned on one side of the magnetic tape and a light receiver arranged on the same side, and a reflective surface arranged on an opposite side of the tape for receiving light from the light transmitter and for reflecting light back to the light receiver. The amount of light reflected from the transmitter to the receiver depends on the amount of interference by the interposition of the magnetic tape so as to sense the edge of the tape. A light signal from the receiver is used to control the relative position of the head to the tape to correct for tape wander. One pair of light transmitters/receivers can be used, or more than one pair such as four pairs of light transmitters/receivers and corresponding reflective surfaces, to accurately position a tape head with respect to a magnetic tape, by determining a dynamic position of the tape edge.