Recording tape cartridge
Patent No. US7004418 (titled "Recording tape cartridge") on Oct 15, 2002. The application was issued on Feb 28, 2006.
What is this patent about?
'418 is related to the field of data storage, specifically to recording tape cartridges. These cartridges house magnetic tape used for data storage and retrieval, particularly in applications like computer backups and archiving. The background art describes various cartridge designs that attempt to protect the tape and facilitate its extraction by a drive mechanism, but these designs often suffer from drawbacks such as requiring complex drive mechanisms or being prone to damage.
The underlying idea behind '418 is to improve the tape cartridge design by placing the tape extraction opening at a corner of the rectangular case. This allows the drive's extraction mechanism to access the tape from multiple directions, simplifying the drive's design. Furthermore, the design separates the door that covers the opening from the leader pin that is used to pull the tape, preventing damage to the leader pin.
The claims of '418 focus on a recording tape cartridge featuring a rectangular case with a corner opening for tape extraction. The cartridge includes a cover member (door) to open and close the opening, and a mechanism to move the cover member between open and closed positions. The opening/closing mechanism is comprised of first and second guide grooves in both the upper and lower cells of the rectangular case.
In practice, the cartridge is loaded into a drive, and the drive's mechanism engages with the leader pin to pull the tape out through the corner opening. The door slides open or closed via a system of guide pins and grooves when the cartridge is inserted or ejected from the drive. The corner opening allows for a more direct tape path, reducing wear and tear on the tape. The separation of the door and leader pin ensures that the leader pin, which interfaces with the drive, remains clean and undamaged.
This design differentiates itself from prior approaches by combining the corner opening with a separate door mechanism. Earlier designs either had openings on the side or front, requiring complex drive mechanisms, or used the leader block itself as the door, making it susceptible to damage. By using a sliding door guided by grooves, the design minimizes the space required for the opening and closing operation, contributing to a more compact drive design and a more robust cartridge.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical Landscape
In the early 2000s when ’418 was filed, magnetic tape storage was typically implemented using single-reel cartridges designed for high-capacity data backup at a time when systems commonly relied on external leader blocks or integrated leader pins to interface with a drive's take-up mechanism. During this era, hardware constraints made the pathing of the tape non-trivial, as the physical geometry of the cartridge opening often required complex drive-side operating mechanisms to extract the tape and navigate it around internal components. Engineering practices focused on minimizing the entry of debris into the case, which was standardly addressed by mechanical shutters or doors that had to operate reliably within the limited spatial footprint of the drive's loading slot.
Prosecution Position
Following the filing of this application, the examiner issued a non-final Office Action rejecting claims 1-7, 12, and 13 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) and § 102(e) based on several prior art references, while also issuing rejections for indefiniteness and nonstatutory double patenting. The examiner indicated that claims 8-11 contained allowable subject matter if rewritten in independent form to include all limitations of the base claim. The prosecution record does not describe the specific technical reasoning or claim changes that subsequently led to the final allowance of the application.
Claims
This patent contains 23 claims, with claim 1 being the only independent claim. The independent claim focuses on a recording tape cartridge with a rectangular case, a cover member, and an opening/closing mechanism. The dependent claims generally elaborate on specific features and configurations of the recording tape cartridge described in the independent claim, such as the leader member, cut-off configuration, engaging portions, guide grooves, lock mechanism, and urging member.
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US7004418
- Application Number
- US10270172A
- Filing Date
- Oct 15, 2002
- Publication Date
- Feb 28, 2006
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO, Google Patents