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:
Jul. 06, 2004
Filed:
Aug. 30, 2002
Applicant:
Inventor:
James H. Eaton, Morgan Hill, CA (US);
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B65H 7/700 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
B65H 7/700 ;
Abstract
The invention is a non-contact optical tape tension sensor for a tape drive. A light source directs an incident beam to the tape in a region of the tape path near where the tape bends. The amount of divergence of the reflected light is related to the curvature of the tape, and thus to the tape tension. The reflected light is passed through an aperture to a photodetector that detects the amount of the divergent beam passing through the aperture. The photodetector output is input to the tape drive controller that controls the currents to the supply and take-up motors to thereby maintain the tape tension within the desired range.