US20030218092A1 - Tape guide with wear resistant coating - Google Patents
Tape guide with wear resistant coating Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20030218092A1 US20030218092A1 US10/348,926 US34892603A US2003218092A1 US 20030218092 A1 US20030218092 A1 US 20030218092A1 US 34892603 A US34892603 A US 34892603A US 2003218092 A1 US2003218092 A1 US 2003218092A1
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- United States
- Prior art keywords
- tape
- corner
- hub
- tape guide
- head
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 238000000576 coating method Methods 0.000 title claims description 24
- 239000011248 coating agent Substances 0.000 title claims description 23
- ZVWKZXLXHLZXLS-UHFFFAOYSA-N zirconium nitride Chemical compound [Zr]#N ZVWKZXLXHLZXLS-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims abstract description 12
- OKTJSMMVPCPJKN-UHFFFAOYSA-N Carbon Chemical compound [C] OKTJSMMVPCPJKN-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims abstract description 8
- 229910052581 Si3N4 Inorganic materials 0.000 claims abstract description 8
- CXOWYMLTGOFURZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N azanylidynechromium Chemical compound [Cr]#N CXOWYMLTGOFURZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims abstract description 8
- 229910052799 carbon Inorganic materials 0.000 claims abstract description 8
- 229910003460 diamond Inorganic materials 0.000 claims abstract description 8
- 239000010432 diamond Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 8
- HQVNEWCFYHHQES-UHFFFAOYSA-N silicon nitride Chemical compound N12[Si]34N5[Si]62N3[Si]51N64 HQVNEWCFYHHQES-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims abstract description 8
- UONOETXJSWQNOL-UHFFFAOYSA-N tungsten carbide Chemical compound [W+]#[C-] UONOETXJSWQNOL-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims abstract description 8
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 abstract description 10
- PXHVJJICTQNCMI-UHFFFAOYSA-N Nickel Chemical compound [Ni] PXHVJJICTQNCMI-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 10
- 229910052759 nickel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 5
- XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N aluminium Chemical compound [Al] XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- 229910052782 aluminium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 3
- 230000001052 transient effect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000013500 data storage Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000001133 acceleration Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000009286 beneficial effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000007797 corrosion Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000005260 corrosion Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004907 flux Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000007704 transition Effects 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B15/00—Driving, starting or stopping record carriers of filamentary or web form; Driving both such record carriers and heads; Guiding such record carriers or containers therefor; Control thereof; Control of operating function
- G11B15/60—Guiding record carrier
- G11B15/66—Threading; Loading; Automatic self-loading
- G11B15/67—Threading; Loading; Automatic self-loading by extracting end of record carrier from container or spool
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B15/00—Driving, starting or stopping record carriers of filamentary or web form; Driving both such record carriers and heads; Guiding such record carriers or containers therefor; Control thereof; Control of operating function
- G11B15/60—Guiding record carrier
- G11B15/605—Guiding record carrier without displacing the guiding means
Definitions
- the present invention relates generally to tape drives and, more particularly, to flanged tape guides having a wear resistant coating.
- Information is recorded on and read from a moving magnetic tape with a magnetic read/write head positioned next to the tape.
- the magnetic “head” may be a single head or, as is common, a series of read/write head elements stacked individually and/or in pairs within the head unit. Data is recorded in tracks on the tape by moving the tape lengthwise past the head.
- the head elements are selectively activated by electric currents representing the information to be recorded on the tape.
- the information is read from the tape by moving the tape longitudinally past the head elements so that magnetic flux patterns on the tape create electric signals in the head elements. These signals represent the information stored on the tape.
- Data is recorded on and read from each of the parallel tracks on the tape by positioning the head elements at different locations across the tape. That is, head elements are moved from track to track as necessary to either record or read the desired information. Movement of the magnetic head is controlled by an actuator operatively coupled to some type of servo control circuitry. Tape drive head positioning actuators often include a lead screw driven by a stepper motor, a voice coil motor, or a combination of both. The carriage that supports the head is driven by the actuator along a path perpendicular to the direction that the tape travels. The head elements are positioned as close to the center of a track as possible based upon the servo information recorded on the tape.
- FIG. 1 illustrates generally the configuration of a tape drive 10 typical of those used with single spool tape cartridges.
- a magnetic tape 12 is wound on a single supply spool 14 in tape cartridge 16 .
- Tape cartridge 16 is inserted into tape drive 10 for read and write operations.
- Tape 12 passes around a first tape guide 18 , over a magnetic read/write head 20 , around a second tape guide 22 to a take up spool 24 .
- Head 20 is mounted to a carriage and actuator assembly 26 that positions head 20 over the desired track or tracks on tape 12 .
- Head 20 engages tape 12 as tape 12 moves across the face of head 20 to record data on tape 12 and to read data from tape 12 .
- Tape guides 18 and 22 may be either roller guides or fixed guides.
- roller guide 28 includes disc shaped flanges 30 and an annular hub 32 .
- Flanges 30 and hub 32 may be machined as a single integral part or as three separate parts bonded together. In either case, flanges 30 function to keep tape 12 at the proper angle as it passes across head 20 . If the tape is presented to the head at too great an angle, then the read and write elements in the head may be misaligned to the data tracks. Flanges 30 are also needed to help keep tape 12 properly packed on take up spool 24 .
- conventional guides have a square corner 34 at the intersection of hub 32 and flange 30 .
- Corner 34 is usually formed at 90° or slightly greater than 90° (as indicated by angle ⁇ in FIG. 5). If corner 34 is greater than 90°, then a small flat area 36 is often used to make it easier to measure the spacing between flanges 30 at corner 34 . Also, because it is difficult to make a perfectly square corner, a small undercut 35 is often machined into the corner of conventional guides to ensure a flat flange surface is presented to the tape at corner 34 .
- U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/510,834 discloses a tape guide in which the corner geometry between the flanges and the hub prevents the tape from abruptly bumping the flange.
- the tape guide of the '834 application which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, includes a hub, a pair of spaced apart parallel flanges extending out from the hub and a corner defining the intersection of the hub and each flange.
- the corners are configured to apply progressively more force to the edge of the tape as the tape moves around the corner from the hub toward the flange. For example, in one version of the tape guide of the '834 application shown in FIG. 9, the corners are rounded.
- corner configurations are designed to urge the tape more gently away from the flange at a much lower rate of acceleration. Guiding the tape in this manner allows for smoother movement of the tape which in turn allows the head positioning system to better follow the tape as it wanders back and forth between the guide flanges.
- the edge of the tape rides on the rounded corner of this new tape guide roller. Since the edge of the tape is somewhat abrasive, it may tend to wear the corners of the roller. This abrasive characteristic is more pronounced with unused tape because the slitting operation used to form the tape leaves the corner of the new tape relatively sharp.
- the present invention is directed to a tape guide like that described in the '834 application in which the corner region is coated with a very hard material such as zirconium nitride, tungsten carbide, silicon nitride, chromium nitride or diamond like carbon.
- a very hard material such as zirconium nitride, tungsten carbide, silicon nitride, chromium nitride or diamond like carbon.
- Even thin coatings of such materials can be formed to exhibit a surface hardness greater than 10 gigaPascals (GPa). It is expected that coating materials applied to the roller that exhibit a hardness of at least 10 GPa will be sufficient to withstand tape wear in the corners of the roller for tape materials currently used in the manufacture of magnetic data storage tapes.
- FIG. 1 is a top down plan view of a single spool tape drive.
- FIGS. 2 and 3 are plan and elevation views of a conventional roller tape guide.
- FIG. 4 is a cross section view of the roller guide of FIGS. 2 and 3 taken along the line 4 - 4 in FIG. 3.
- FIG. 5 is a detail cross section view of the corner between the flange and the hub of the roller guide of FIG. 4.
- FIGS. 6 and 7 are plan and elevation views of a roller tape guide constructed according to one embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 8 is a cross section view of the roller guide of FIGS. 6 and 7 taken along the line 8 - 8 in FIG. 7.
- FIG. 9 is a detail cross section view of the corner between the flange and the hub of the roller guide of FIG. 8 in which the corner is rounded.
- FIG. 10 is a detail cross section view of the corner between the flange and the hub of the roller guide of FIG. 8 in which the corner is chamfered.
- FIG. 11 is a more detailed view of the corner shown in FIG. 9 illustrating the tape moving around the corner.
- FIG. 1 illustrates generally the configuration of a tape drive 10 typical of those used with single spool tape cartridges.
- a magnetic tape 12 is wound on a single supply spool 14 in tape cartridge 16 .
- Tape cartridge 16 is inserted into tape drive 10 for read and write operations.
- Tape 12 passes around a first tape guide 18 , over a magnetic read/write head 20 , around a second tape guide 22 to a take up spool 24 .
- Head 20 is mounted to a carriage and actuator assembly 26 that positions head 20 over the desired track or tracks on tape 12 .
- Head 20 engages tape 12 as tape 12 moves across the face of head 20 to record data on tape 12 and to read data from tape 12 .
- Tape guides 18 and 22 may be either roller guides or fixed guides.
- roller guides constructed according to the present invention are shown in FIGS. 6 - 11 .
- the innovative features of the invention are illustrated in the corner structures shown in the detail views of FIGS. 9 - 11 .
- the details of these new corner structures are not apparent from the smaller scale views of FIGS. 6 - 8 .
- each roller guide 38 includes disc shaped flanges 40 and an annular hub 42 .
- Tape 12 rides on the outer surface 44 of hub 42 .
- Each flange 40 extends radially past outer surface 44 of hub 42 .
- hub 40 rotates on a fixed pin or axle that extends from the tape drive chassis or other suitable support through the center of hub 40 .
- Ball bearings or like are preferred to reduce friction and minimize wear between hub 40 and the pin or axle on which it turns.
- Fixed guides do not rotate and the hub of a fixed guide may be any shape necessary or desired to provide a suitable guiding surface for tape 12 .
- Flanges 40 and hub 42 may be machined as a single integral part or as separate parts bonded together.
- rounded corner 48 is a circular curve having a radius in the range of 0.03 mm to 0.5 mm.
- corner 48 transitions to a short flat area 50 on the inside face 52 of flanges 40 and then inside face 52 flares up at an angle ⁇ to outside edge 54 of flanges 40 .
- Flare angle ⁇ is typically in the range of 0.5° to 10°. Because the corner radius is usually quite small, a flat area 50 makes it easier to measure the spacing between flanges 40 at corners 48 .
- a thin coating 55 of a very hard material is applied to outer surface 44 of hub 42 at least covering corner 48 .
- coating 55 is only necessary for wear resistance at corner 48 , coating 55 will typically be applied to the entire outer surface 44 of hub 42 and the inside face 52 of the flanges 30 .
- Coating 55 should have a hardness of at least 10 GPa to adequately withstand the abrasiveness of new tapes. It is expected that coating 55 applied to a thickness of 1 ⁇ m-3 ⁇ m will be sufficient for most roller type tape guides to provide adequate wear resistance for the useful life of the guide. A thicker coating may be required for stationary tape guides. Suitable coating materials include zirconium nitride, tungsten carbide, silicon nitride, chromium nitride and diamond like carbon. Zirconium nitride is the presently preferred coating material.
- FIG. 11 illustrates the edge of tape 12 in rounded corner 48 .
- Rounded corner 48 functions much like a spring—as tape 12 moves around the progressively steeper corner 48 on coating 55 toward flange 40 , progressively more force is created to push tape 12 away from flange 40 .
- tape 12 does not abruptly bump flange 40 . Instead, tape 12 is more gently pushed away from flange 40 .
- a typical square corner tape to flange clearance of 0.02 mm would be increased to 0.03 mm-0.04 mm in a comparable tape guide that uses the new rounded corner.
- the necessary or desirable clearance may be effected by the size of the corner radius or other corner geometry, tape width and thickness and other operating parameters.
- the desired wear resistance will be achieved by applying a thin coating of very hard material to the corners of the guide
- the desired wear resistance could be achieved by coating the entire surface of the hub or forming the entire guide from a suitably hard material.
- Other configurations might also be possible. It is to be understood, therefore, that other variations of and modifications to the embodiments shown and described may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention which is defined in following claims.
Abstract
A tape guide in which the corner geometry between the flanges and the hub prevents the tape from abruptly bumping the flange and in which the corner is coated with a very hard wear resistant material such as zirconium nitride, tungsten carbide, silicon nitride, chromium nitride or diamond like carbon.
Description
- This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/643,317 filed Aug. 21, 2000 entitled TAPE GUIDE WITH WEAR RESISTANT COATING.
- The present invention relates generally to tape drives and, more particularly, to flanged tape guides having a wear resistant coating.
- Information is recorded on and read from a moving magnetic tape with a magnetic read/write head positioned next to the tape. The magnetic “head” may be a single head or, as is common, a series of read/write head elements stacked individually and/or in pairs within the head unit. Data is recorded in tracks on the tape by moving the tape lengthwise past the head. The head elements are selectively activated by electric currents representing the information to be recorded on the tape. The information is read from the tape by moving the tape longitudinally past the head elements so that magnetic flux patterns on the tape create electric signals in the head elements. These signals represent the information stored on the tape.
- Data is recorded on and read from each of the parallel tracks on the tape by positioning the head elements at different locations across the tape. That is, head elements are moved from track to track as necessary to either record or read the desired information. Movement of the magnetic head is controlled by an actuator operatively coupled to some type of servo control circuitry. Tape drive head positioning actuators often include a lead screw driven by a stepper motor, a voice coil motor, or a combination of both. The carriage that supports the head is driven by the actuator along a path perpendicular to the direction that the tape travels. The head elements are positioned as close to the center of a track as possible based upon the servo information recorded on the tape.
- FIG. 1 illustrates generally the configuration of a
tape drive 10 typical of those used with single spool tape cartridges. Referring to FIG. 1, amagnetic tape 12 is wound on asingle supply spool 14 intape cartridge 16.Tape cartridge 16 is inserted intotape drive 10 for read and write operations.Tape 12 passes around afirst tape guide 18, over a magnetic read/writehead 20, around asecond tape guide 22 to a take upspool 24.Head 20 is mounted to a carriage andactuator assembly 26 that positions head 20 over the desired track or tracks ontape 12.Head 20 engagestape 12 astape 12 moves across the face ofhead 20 to record data ontape 12 and to read data fromtape 12.Tape guides roller guide 28 includes disc shapedflanges 30 and anannular hub 32.Flanges 30 andhub 32 may be machined as a single integral part or as three separate parts bonded together. In either case,flanges 30 function to keeptape 12 at the proper angle as it passes acrosshead 20. If the tape is presented to the head at too great an angle, then the read and write elements in the head may be misaligned to the data tracks.Flanges 30 are also needed to help keeptape 12 properly packed on take upspool 24. - As shown in the detail of FIG. 5, conventional guides have a
square corner 34 at the intersection ofhub 32 andflange 30.Corner 34 is usually formed at 90° or slightly greater than 90° (as indicated by angle θ in FIG. 5). Ifcorner 34 is greater than 90°, then a smallflat area 36 is often used to make it easier to measure the spacing betweenflanges 30 atcorner 34. Also, because it is difficult to make a perfectly square corner, asmall undercut 35 is often machined into the corner of conventional guides to ensure a flat flange surface is presented to the tape atcorner 34. - As the tape is pulled over the guides, a film of air is created between the
outside surface 33 ofhub 32 andtape 12. This film is often referred to as an air bearing. The air bearing allows the tape to move with low friction very rapidly betweenflanges 30. Consequently, high frequency tape movement can occur when the edge of the tape bumps abruptly against theflanges 30 atcorner 34. The read/write head positioning systems have difficulty following such high frequency tape movement. - U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/510,834 discloses a tape guide in which the corner geometry between the flanges and the hub prevents the tape from abruptly bumping the flange. The tape guide of the '834 application, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, includes a hub, a pair of spaced apart parallel flanges extending out from the hub and a corner defining the intersection of the hub and each flange. The corners are configured to apply progressively more force to the edge of the tape as the tape moves around the corner from the hub toward the flange. For example, in one version of the tape guide of the '834 application shown in FIG. 9, the corners are rounded. These corner configurations are designed to urge the tape more gently away from the flange at a much lower rate of acceleration. Guiding the tape in this manner allows for smoother movement of the tape which in turn allows the head positioning system to better follow the tape as it wanders back and forth between the guide flanges.
- As shown in FIG. 11, the edge of the tape rides on the rounded corner of this new tape guide roller. Since the edge of the tape is somewhat abrasive, it may tend to wear the corners of the roller. This abrasive characteristic is more pronounced with unused tape because the slitting operation used to form the tape leaves the corner of the new tape relatively sharp.
- As shown in FIG. 5 and described above, most conventional tape guide rollers have a small undercut or “relief” machined into the corner. Conventional rollers are usually made from aluminum with an electroless nickel coating. Aluminum is used because it is easily machined to a good surface finish and it is inexpensive. Electroless nickel coating is much harder than aluminum and protects the surface against wear and corrosion. The nickel coating provides adequate protection for conventional rollers since the edge of the tape does not ride up on the corner. It has been observed, however, that nickel coating on the new rounded corner rollers of the '834 application wears more quickly than is desirable. As the nickel coating wears the rounded corner, the tape may begin to bump more abruptly against an edge or edges worn into the corner.
- Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a tape guide like that described in the '834 application in which the corner region is coated with a very hard material such as zirconium nitride, tungsten carbide, silicon nitride, chromium nitride or diamond like carbon. Even thin coatings of such materials can be formed to exhibit a surface hardness greater than 10 gigaPascals (GPa). It is expected that coating materials applied to the roller that exhibit a hardness of at least 10 GPa will be sufficient to withstand tape wear in the corners of the roller for tape materials currently used in the manufacture of magnetic data storage tapes.
- FIG. 1 is a top down plan view of a single spool tape drive.
- FIGS. 2 and 3 are plan and elevation views of a conventional roller tape guide.
- FIG. 4 is a cross section view of the roller guide of FIGS. 2 and 3 taken along the line4-4 in FIG. 3.
- FIG. 5 is a detail cross section view of the corner between the flange and the hub of the roller guide of FIG. 4.
- FIGS. 6 and 7 are plan and elevation views of a roller tape guide constructed according to one embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 8 is a cross section view of the roller guide of FIGS. 6 and 7 taken along the line8-8 in FIG. 7.
- FIG. 9 is a detail cross section view of the corner between the flange and the hub of the roller guide of FIG. 8 in which the corner is rounded.
- FIG. 10 is a detail cross section view of the corner between the flange and the hub of the roller guide of FIG. 8 in which the corner is chamfered.
- FIG. 11 is a more detailed view of the corner shown in FIG. 9 illustrating the tape moving around the corner.
- As noted above, FIG. 1 illustrates generally the configuration of a
tape drive 10 typical of those used with single spool tape cartridges. Referring again to FIG. 1, amagnetic tape 12 is wound on asingle supply spool 14 intape cartridge 16.Tape cartridge 16 is inserted intotape drive 10 for read and write operations.Tape 12 passes around afirst tape guide 18, over a magnetic read/write head 20, around asecond tape guide 22 to a take upspool 24.Head 20 is mounted to a carriage andactuator assembly 26 that positionshead 20 over the desired track or tracks ontape 12.Head 20 engagestape 12 astape 12 moves across the face ofhead 20 to record data ontape 12 and to read data fromtape 12. Tape guides 18 and 22 may be either roller guides or fixed guides. - Roller guides constructed according to the present invention are shown in FIGS.6-11. The innovative features of the invention are illustrated in the corner structures shown in the detail views of FIGS. 9-11. The details of these new corner structures are not apparent from the smaller scale views of FIGS. 6-8. Referring first to FIGS. 6-8, each
roller guide 38 includes disc shapedflanges 40 and anannular hub 42.Tape 12 rides on theouter surface 44 ofhub 42. Eachflange 40 extends radially pastouter surface 44 ofhub 42. When roller guide 38 is installed intape drive 10, for example asguides hub 40 rotates on a fixed pin or axle that extends from the tape drive chassis or other suitable support through the center ofhub 40. Ball bearings or like are preferred to reduce friction and minimize wear betweenhub 40 and the pin or axle on which it turns. Fixed guides do not rotate and the hub of a fixed guide may be any shape necessary or desired to provide a suitable guiding surface fortape 12.Flanges 40 andhub 42 may be machined as a single integral part or as separate parts bonded together. - Referring now to FIG. 9,
hub 42 andflanges 40 come together at arounded corner 48. In this embodiment, roundedcorner 48 is a circular curve having a radius in the range of 0.03 mm to 0.5 mm. Preferably, corner 48 transitions to a shortflat area 50 on theinside face 52 offlanges 40 and then inside face 52 flares up at an angle θ tooutside edge 54 offlanges 40. Flare angle θ is typically in the range of 0.5° to 10°. Because the corner radius is usually quite small, aflat area 50 makes it easier to measure the spacing betweenflanges 40 atcorners 48. Athin coating 55 of a very hard material is applied toouter surface 44 ofhub 42 at least coveringcorner 48. Although coating 55 is only necessary for wear resistance atcorner 48, coating 55 will typically be applied to the entireouter surface 44 ofhub 42 and theinside face 52 of theflanges 30.Coating 55 should have a hardness of at least 10 GPa to adequately withstand the abrasiveness of new tapes. It is expected that coating 55 applied to a thickness of 1 μm-3 μm will be sufficient for most roller type tape guides to provide adequate wear resistance for the useful life of the guide. A thicker coating may be required for stationary tape guides. Suitable coating materials include zirconium nitride, tungsten carbide, silicon nitride, chromium nitride and diamond like carbon. Zirconium nitride is the presently preferred coating material. - FIG. 11 illustrates the edge of
tape 12 in roundedcorner 48. Roundedcorner 48 functions much like a spring—astape 12 moves around the progressivelysteeper corner 48 on coating 55 towardflange 40, progressively more force is created to pushtape 12 away fromflange 40. Hence,tape 12 does not abruptly bumpflange 40. Instead,tape 12 is more gently pushed away fromflange 40. - Increasing the tape to flange clearance slightly over that of conventional square corner guides should help help keep
tape 12 from riding continually on roundedcorners 48. The spacing between flanges, that is to say the distance between the inside surfaces of the flanges measured from corner to corner, is slightly larger than the width of the tape. Hence, there is a clearance between the tape and the flanges that allows the tape to pass unimpeded between the flanges. For example, for ½ inch type data storage tapes that have a nominal tape width of 12.650 mm, it is expected that increasing the tape to flange clearance by 0.01 mm 0.02 mm (10-20 microns) over the clearance of a square corner guide will be effective to help keeptape 12 offrounded corners 48. Hence, a typical square corner tape to flange clearance of 0.02 mm would be increased to 0.03 mm-0.04 mm in a comparable tape guide that uses the new rounded corner. This is only one example, however. The necessary or desirable clearance may be effected by the size of the corner radius or other corner geometry, tape width and thickness and other operating parameters. - Although a circular curve having radii in the range noted above will effectively reduce high frequency transient tape movement caused by the tape abruptly bumping
flange 40, it is expected that other radii or other corner configurations will also help reduce this type of transient tape movement. For example, a radii as small as 0.01 mm should provide some beneficial effect. The chamferedcorner 56 illustrated in FIG. 10 should also help reduce transient tape movement. Referring to FIG. 10,hub 42 andflange 40 intersect at arectilinear corner 56 which, in this embodiment, is a 45° chamfer. Other configurations are possible. What is important is that each corner be configured to apply progressively more force to the edge of the tape as the moves around the corner from the hub toward the flange. Also, while it is expected that the desired wear resistance will be achieved by applying a thin coating of very hard material to the corners of the guide, the desired wear resistance could be achieved by coating the entire surface of the hub or forming the entire guide from a suitably hard material. Other configurations might also be possible. It is to be understood, therefore, that other variations of and modifications to the embodiments shown and described may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention which is defined in following claims.
Claims (13)
1. A tape guide, comprising a hub, spaced apart parallel flanges extending out from the hub and a corner defining the intersection of the hub and each flange, the tape passing over the hub between the flanges, each corner configured to apply progressively more force to an edge of the tape as the edge of the tape moves around the corner from the hub toward the flange and each corner having a surface formed of zirconium nitride, tungsten carbide, silicon nitride, chromium nitride or diamond like carbon.
2. The tape guide of claim 1 , wherein the surface of each corner comprises a coating of zirconium nitride, tungsten carbide, silicon nitride, chromium nitride or diamond like carbon.
3. The tape guide of claim 1 , wherein the corner is rounded.
4. The tape guide of claim 1 , wherein the corner is chamfered.
5. The tape guide of claim 2 , wherein the coating is 1 μm-3 μm thick.
6. The tape guide of claim 3 , wherein the rounded corner comprises a circular curve having a radius in the range of 0.03 mm to 0.05 mm.
7. A tape guide, comprising a hub, spaced apart parallel flanges extending out from the hub and a corner defining the intersection of the hub and each flange, the tape passing over the hub between the flanges, each corner configured to apply progressively more force to an edge of the tape as the edge of the tape moves around the corner from the hub toward the flange, and each corner having a zirconium nitride surface.
8. The tape guide of claim 7 , wherein the surface of each corner comprises a coating of zirconium nitride.
9. A tape guide, comprising a hub, spaced apart parallel flanges extending out from the hub, a rounded corner joining the hub and each flange, and each corner having a surface formed of zirconium nitride, tungsten carbide, silicon nitride, chromium nitride or diamond like carbon.
10. The tape guide of claim 9 , wherein the rounded corner comprises a circular curve having a radius in the range of 0.03 mm to 0.5 mm.
11. A tape guide, comprising a hub, spaced apart parallel flanges extending out from the hub, and a rounded corner having a zirconium nitride surface joining the hub and each flange.
12. A tape drive, comprising:
a read/write head;
an actuator operatively coupled to the head, the actuator configured to move the head in a direction generally perpendicular to the direction of motion of the tape over the head;
a tape guide disposed near the head, the tape guide comprising a hub, spaced apart parallel flanges extending out from the hub and a corner defining the intersection of the hub and each flange, the tape passing over the hub between the flanges, each corner configured to apply progressively more force to an edge of the tape as the edge of the tape moves around the corner from the hub toward the flange and each corner having a surface formed of zirconium nitride, tungsten carbide, silicon nitride, chromium nitride or diamond like carbon.
13. A tape drive, comprising:
a read/write head;
an actuator operatively coupled to the head, the actuator configured to move the head in a direction generally perpendicular to the direction of motion of the tape over the head;
a tape guide disposed near the head, the tape guide comprising a hub, spaced apart parallel flanges extending out from the hub, a rounded corner joining the hub and each flange, and each corner having a surface formed of zirconium nitride, tungsten carbide, silicon nitride, chromium nitride or diamond like carbon.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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US10/348,926 US20030218092A1 (en) | 2000-08-21 | 2003-01-21 | Tape guide with wear resistant coating |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US09/643,317 US6570740B1 (en) | 2000-08-21 | 2000-08-21 | Tape guide with wear resistant coating |
US10/348,926 US20030218092A1 (en) | 2000-08-21 | 2003-01-21 | Tape guide with wear resistant coating |
Related Parent Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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US09/643,317 Continuation-In-Part US6570740B1 (en) | 2000-08-21 | 2000-08-21 | Tape guide with wear resistant coating |
Publications (1)
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US20030218092A1 true US20030218092A1 (en) | 2003-11-27 |
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Family Applications (3)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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US09/643,317 Expired - Lifetime US6570740B1 (en) | 2000-08-21 | 2000-08-21 | Tape guide with wear resistant coating |
US10/272,134 Expired - Lifetime US6873495B2 (en) | 2000-08-21 | 2002-10-16 | Recording and/or reproducing device comprising a coated tape guide |
US10/348,926 Abandoned US20030218092A1 (en) | 2000-08-21 | 2003-01-21 | Tape guide with wear resistant coating |
Family Applications Before (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US09/643,317 Expired - Lifetime US6570740B1 (en) | 2000-08-21 | 2000-08-21 | Tape guide with wear resistant coating |
US10/272,134 Expired - Lifetime US6873495B2 (en) | 2000-08-21 | 2002-10-16 | Recording and/or reproducing device comprising a coated tape guide |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (3) | US6570740B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2002109799A (en) |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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US20040238671A1 (en) * | 2003-06-02 | 2004-12-02 | Brown Jerome D. | Magnetic tape guide and method of use |
US20110075293A1 (en) * | 2009-09-30 | 2011-03-31 | Henricus Ruyten | Coatings For Tape Guides |
US8955782B2 (en) | 2010-09-29 | 2015-02-17 | Fujifilm Corporation | Tape guiding member |
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US6570740B1 (en) * | 2000-08-21 | 2003-05-27 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Tape guide with wear resistant coating |
MY130425A (en) * | 2001-10-18 | 2007-06-29 | Hewlett Packard Ltd | Recording and/or reproducing device comprising coated tape guide |
JP2003281709A (en) * | 2002-03-27 | 2003-10-03 | Tdk Corp | Magnetic recorder and magnetic recording and reproducing system |
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JP2006277791A (en) * | 2005-03-28 | 2006-10-12 | Mitsumi Electric Co Ltd | Guide roller, its manufacturing method, and recording/reproducing apparatus |
US7349181B2 (en) * | 2005-09-21 | 2008-03-25 | International Business Machines Corporation | Rotatable tape guide with tapered flanges |
US7656614B2 (en) * | 2006-09-27 | 2010-02-02 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Tape drive |
US20080278846A1 (en) * | 2007-05-10 | 2008-11-13 | Imation Corp. | High friction rotating guide and magnetic tape system |
JP2009087469A (en) * | 2007-09-28 | 2009-04-23 | Fujifilm Corp | Magnetic tape reel and magnetic tape cartridge |
WO2013162604A1 (en) * | 2012-04-27 | 2013-10-31 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Electrically isolated tape guide |
US9135943B2 (en) * | 2013-07-03 | 2015-09-15 | Oracle International Corporation | Tape guide with flanges |
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Cited By (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20040238671A1 (en) * | 2003-06-02 | 2004-12-02 | Brown Jerome D. | Magnetic tape guide and method of use |
US20110075293A1 (en) * | 2009-09-30 | 2011-03-31 | Henricus Ruyten | Coatings For Tape Guides |
US8210463B2 (en) * | 2009-09-30 | 2012-07-03 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Coatings for tape guides |
US8955782B2 (en) | 2010-09-29 | 2015-02-17 | Fujifilm Corporation | Tape guiding member |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US6570740B1 (en) | 2003-05-27 |
US6873495B2 (en) | 2005-03-29 |
US20030075582A1 (en) | 2003-04-24 |
JP2002109799A (en) | 2002-04-12 |
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