Patent Application
20070284468
The following description is presented to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention. Descriptions of specific materials, techniques, and applications are provided only as examples. Various modifications to the examples described herein will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other examples and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the examples described and shown, but is to be accorded the scope consistent with the appended claims.
According to one example described herein, an exemplary storage cartridge is provided having a separable (or movable) housing portion. The separable housing portion is generally operable to separate and expand the vertical height of the cartridge (i.e., the height or distance of the cartridge along the direction of the rotational axis of the reel). In particular, a separable portion of the housing is separated or expanded to provide sufficient clearance for rotation of the reel and streaming of tape therefrom. In one example, the cartridge is in a closed position external to a drive and is separated or expanded upon engaging the drive receiver slot (or the like). A cartridge having the ability to separate, e.g., upon insertion to a drive, may allow for wider storage media to be used within a given size cartridge housing, thereby allowing for an increase in storage capacity.
Referring initially to
Receiver slot 20 is configured to receive cartridge 24 therein adjacent to reel driver 18. In one example, receiver slot 20 includes one or more guide rails 70 having roller pins 72 (or other feature(s)) for engaging and separating a portion of the housing of cartridge 24 as described in greater detail below. In one example, roller pins 72 (or other portion of guide rails 70 of receiver slot 20) engage and lift or elevate a separable portion, e.g., the top shell, of cartridge 24, thereby allowing reel 26 to rotate with increased clearance. A portion of cartridge 24 may include a suitable feature (not shown in
Tape drive 10 may also include a door and various mechanisms for receiving and ejecting cartridge 24 as are known in the art. When cartridge 24 is received in receiver slot 20 a buckler motor 46 may engage a cartridge leader 28 and stream storage tape along a tape path, guided by rollers 38, within tape drive 10 passing read/write head 16 and onto take-up reel 17. In other examples, e.g., SDLT drives, there is no separate buckler motor; rather, the buckling motion occurring due to a load motor (not shown) rotating the buckler.
Tape drive 10 is typically installed within or associated with a computer (not shown) or computer network. Additionally, tape drive 10 may be used as part of an automated tape library having a plurality of tape cartridges and a robotic transfer mechanism to transport cartridges to one or more tape drives. An exemplary storage library is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,760,995, entitled “MULTI-DRIVE, MULTI-MAGAZINE MASS STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL UNIT FOR TAPE CARTRIDGES,” which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Cartridge 24 generally includes a substantially rectangular cartridge housing which encloses cartridge reel 26, storage tape (not shown), and a cartridge leader 28. Cartridge 24 may further include a cartridge door to protect storage tape therein and cartridge leader 28, which is exposed when the door is open. Storage tape may include magnetic or optical storage tape that stores information in a form, e.g., digital, that may be subsequently retrieved if desired. Storage tape may be approximately 0.500 to 0.750 inches in width, but larger and smaller widths are contemplated for various sized housings and the like. Storage tape may have a thickness of approximately 0.5 mils (0.0005 inch) or thinner. Typically, storage tape includes a storage surface on one side of storage tape that may be divided into a plurality of parallel tracks along the length of storage tape.
It should be understood that the exemplary cartridges described herein may be used with various media drives not explicitly shown or described. Additionally, various other features of a media drive may be included, for example, various additional or alternative buckler systems, rollers, tape guides, receiving mechanisms, dampers, and the like may be used. A detailed description of various components of a tape drive system that may be used is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,445, entitled “CARTRIDGE BUCKLER FOR A TAPE DRIVE,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Further, a representative magnetic tape drive for which an exemplary storage cartridge may be used is sold by Quantum Corporation under the trademark SDLT™ 320.
In this illustrative example, storage cartridge 224 generally includes a housing comprised of two primary sections, a top shell 202 and a lower shell 204. Top shell 202 and bottom shell 204 are coupled in a separable, movable fashion, such that top shell 202 may move relative to bottom shell 204. In particular, top shell 202 may be elevated or lifted relative to bottom shell 204 to increase the clearance distance between inner surfaces 203 and 205 and reel 226 (e.g., the flanges and/or hub of reel 226). Such a feature allows for reel 226 to be housed between opposing inner surfaces 203 and 205 with little or no clearance in a closed position (see, e.g.,
It is noted that the terms top shell and bottom shell, and the description of the top shell and bottom shell, are used herein for illustrative purposes of one example and ease of description. In other examples, a top shell may be held stationary while a bottom shell moves down, or drops, relative to the top shell. Further, a movable portion may include less than the top half of the housing, and may include, e.g., a major surface (or a portion thereof) that is separable to increase the clearance of the opposing inner surfaces.
Top shell 202 may include a separation feature 250 for engaging a portion of the drive resulting in separation of top shell 202 and bottom shell 205. Separation feature 250 is illustrated in this example as a ramped surface formed in top shell 202, which may engage a portion of the drive (e.g., driver rail 270) to cause top shell 202 to lift relative to bottom shell 204, thereby increasing the distance along the axis of reel 226 between opposing inner surfaces 203 and 205. Roller pins (such as roller pins 72 shown in
Separation feature 250 is shown as a ramped surface in
As seen more clearly with respect to
In one example, a biasing member 232 is included to bias reel 226, including geared portion 234, toward an opening 235 formed in bottom shell 204. Further, in one example, reel 226 is designed to “float” or translate axially within the housing. In such an instance, a magnet 238 may be included with the hub of reel 226 to provide magnetic coupling with a reel driver (e.g., such as reel driver 18 of
In one example, reel 226 is sandwiched or locked in place between top shell 202 and bottom shell 204 in the closed position, and reel 226 is unlocked or free to rotate when top shell 202 is separated as illustrated in
Inner surface 203 of top shell 202 may include an alignment feature 260 for aligning reel 226 and securing reel 226 in a closed position. Alignment feature 260 may include a ridge or protrusion to engage a portion of reel 226, such as a portion of the hub or flange thereof. Reel 226 may include a mating feature 262 (e.g., a slot or indentation) for engaging alignment feature 260 (e.g., a mating ridge) in a closed position. Such an engagement may assist in securing reel 226 in the closed position.
Top shell 202 and bottom shell 204 may further include various protrusions and ribs to sandwich reel 226 there between. Such features may reduce or eliminate movement of reel 226 in a closed position. Additionally, a ring gear of teeth may be incorporated in reel 226 to mate with a ring of teeth in a portion of the housing, e.g., bottom shell 204, to further reduce or eliminate rotation of reel 226 when in a closed position.
In this example, top shell 202 and bottom shell 204 are coupled via one or more extension assemblies 240, which may include mating bosses forming a movable or slidable engagement between top shell 202 and bottom shell 204. In one example, four such extension assemblies 240 are included, generally positioned near each corner of the housing. Further, extension assemblies 240 may be biased in a closed position, e.g., via a spring therein, such that when not within a drive, cartridge 224 is biased or maintained in a closed position. Additionally or alternatively, cartridge 224 may include a locking mechanism for securing top shell 202 and bottom shell 204 in a closed position (see, e.g.,
Extension assemblies 240 may be configured to allow for a predetermined separation distance h along a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of reel 226. In other examples, the separation distance h may be determined by the drive when entering the drive receiver. Generally, the separation distance may be determined to allow for a minimum or desired clearance between reel 226 and inner surface 203 of top shell 202 (e.g., 0.050 inches). In one example, in the closed position, reel 226 is separated from inner surface 205 by a suitable clearance distance, e.g., 0.050 inches, and engages inner surface 203 (e.g., no clearance). Accordingly, in the open position, top shell 202 is moved or separated, e.g., 0.050 inches, to provide a similar clearance between reel 226 and inner surface 205 (e.g., 0.050 inches).
In another example, in the closed position, reel 226 is sandwiched between inner surfaces 203 and 205. Top shell 202 separates and moves a distance h along the axis of rotation, the distance h approximately equal to the total of clearances desired above and below reel 226. Additionally, reel 226 moves a distance approximately half of that of top shell 202, e.g., h/2. For example, top shell 202 moves 0.100 inches and reel 226 moves 0.050 inches to create a clearance of 0.050 inches above and below reel 226 and inner surfaces 203 and 205 respectively.
It is noted that reel 226 need not move in concert with top shell 202 and may move, e.g., in response to engaging a reel driver. For example, as cartridge 224 enters a drive receiver a feature may engage top shell 202 and separate it from bottom shell 202 by distance h. Additionally, as a reel driver mates with reel 226, the reel driver may raise reel 226 a distance of approximately h/2 above bottom shell 204, thereby providing a clearance distance of h/2 between the flanges of reel 226 and opposing inner surfaces 203 and 205.
In one example, an exemplary cartridge as described, may achieve relatively greater storage capacities for a given size cartridge. For example, the general size of the cartridge may remain unchanged (in the closed position), with the possible addition of features for engaging a drive receiver and facilitating the separation of the housing portions. Current DLT cartridges, for example, having a height of approximately 1.0 inch (width and depth of about 4.15 inches), include storage media that is 0.500 inches in width. The difference in height of the housing and the storage media is due, for example, to reel 226 (e.g., the thickness of the flanges, etc.), clearances needed for rotation, and the like. A cartridge having a separable housing may allow for the width of the storage media to increase (e.g., to approximately 0.750 inches) with a similar or identical height of the cartridge housing (in the closed, non-separated position shown in
The increased width allows for an increase in the number of data tracks per longitudinal inch of the storage media (and for a given technology set). Accordingly, increasing the width of the tape by approximately 50 percent may result in a 50 percent increase in storage capacity. Of course, the exact increase in width and storage capacity may vary. Further, many conventional automated tape libraries and tape drives are designed to handle specific cartridge profiles, for example, the DLT Cartridge profile standard. An exemplary separable cartridge may eliminate the need to redesign a library or tape drive to handle a wider storage tape and taller cartridge. Further, the storage capacity for a given size cartridge may be increased without reducing the thickness of the media, which may lead to increased LTM, tape edge damage, and the like.
Exemplary cartridge 224 further includes a door 230 for accessing storage media (not shown) wound on reel 226. In this example, door 230 comprises a flip down door that is hinged to bottom shell 204. As cartridge 224 enters a drive receiver, door 230 may be activated by a protruding boss (not shown) located in the bottom of the receiver (as is generally known in the art).
Further, in one example, the cartridge includes an SDLT style buckle retainer feature (see, e.g.,
Cartridge 224 may include various shapes and designs such as square, rectangular, circular, and the like. Cartridge 224 may further include various formed indentations, protrusions, notches, and the like for utility (such as separation upon entering a driver receiver) or aesthetics. It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that numerous configurations and designs for the cartridge housing are possible.
Additionally, the housing of cartridge 224 may include any suitable material. The cartridge housing preferably includes a rigid material to protect the enclosed reel and storage media. Further, the cartridge housing portions may be manufactured by injection molding processes as in the art. Other features such as engagement features 250, door 230, buckle mechanisms, and the like, may be co-molded with the housing or attached thereto in any suitable manner.
Lock member 660 may extend through a portion of the housing and be activated manually by a user, e.g., unlocked prior to insertion in a drive. Alternatively or additionally, lock member 660 may engage a portion of the drive or driver receiver to unlock and release top shell 602. Lock member 660 may be biased in an open or closed position; in this instance biased in a locked position via biasing member 662. Upon insertion with a drive, e.g., lock member 660 may be moved to allow for relative movement of top shell 602 and bottom shell 604 as described herein.
Although various aspects of the invention have been described in connection with some specific examples, it is not intended to be limited to the specific form set forth herein. Rather, the scope of the present invention is limited only by the claims. Additionally, although a feature may appear to be described in connection with a particular embodiment, one skilled in the art would recognize that various features of the described embodiments may be combined in accordance with the invention. Moreover, aspects of the invention describe in connection with an embodiment may stand alone as an invention.
Moreover, it will be appreciated that various modifications and alterations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, although exemplary cartridges are described herein as comprising a single reel cartridge, a cartridge housing for supporting two or more reels (often referred to a cassette, for example) and having a movable portion as described, is contemplated. The invention is therefore not to be limited by the foregoing illustrative details, but is to be defined according to the claims.
