Claims
- 1. A tape cartridge capable of housing a tape data storage medium, said tape cartridge being capable of being inserted into a tape drive for reading/writing data on said tape data storage medium, and including a tape reel lock mechanism, said tape cartridge comprising:
- a first reel rotating about an axis in a first plane;
- a second reel mounted coaxially with said first reel and rotatable about said axis, rotating in a second plane, which is parallel to said first plane;
- an exterior housing, having a top side, a bottom side thereto for enclosing said first and second coaxially mounted reels, which are rotatably mounted within said exterior housing, said exterior housing being directly mountable in a tape drive;
- a first drive spindle affixed coaxially to said first reel and accessible through an opening formed in said bottom side of said exterior housing for providing a mechanical coupling of said first reel to a tape drive in which said tape cartridge is mounted;
- a second drive spindle affixed coaxially to said second reel, insertable through a coaxial opening in said first reel, and accessible through said opening formed in said bottom side of said exterior housing for providing a mechanical coupling of said second reel to said tape drive; and
- lock means contained within said exterior housing to concurrently lock said first drive spindle and said second drive spindle to prevent movement of said first and said second drive spindles with respect to each other when said tape cartridge is removed from said tape drive.
- 2. The tape cartridge of claim 1 wherein said lock means comprises:
- a first spring loaded arm which functions to concurrently engage said first drive spindle and said second drive spindle.
- 3. The tape cartridge of claim 2 wherein said first spring loaded arm engages at least one spline formed in said first drive spindle.
- 4. The tape cartridge of claim 3 wherein said first spring loaded arm engages a feature in said second drive spindle concurrently with engagement of said at least one spline formed in said first drive spindle.
- 5. The tape cartridge of claim 4 wherein said first spring loaded arm engages a spline formed in said exterior housing of the tape cartridge.
- 6. The tape cartridge of claim 3 wherein said first spring loaded arm engages a spline formed in said exterior housing of the tape cartridge.
- 7. The tape cartridge of claim 6 wherein said first spring loaded arm is hingeably attached to said second drive spindle to concurrently engage a one of said splines formed in said first drive spindle and spline formed in said exterior housing.
- 8. The tape cartridge of claim 2 wherein said first spring loaded arm includes a feature formed thereon to engage an actuator on said tape drive when said tape cartridge is mounted in said tape drive, said actuator being operable to release said lock means to thereby enable said first and second reels to freely rotate.
- 9. The tape cartridge of claim 2 wherein said lock means further comprises:
- a second spring loaded arm which functions to concurrently engage said first drive spindle and said second drive spindle.
- 10. The tape cartridge of claim 9 wherein said second spring loaded arm engages at least one spline formed in said first drive spindle.
- 11. The tape cartridge of claim 10 wherein said second spring loaded arm engages a feature in said second drive spindle concurrently with engagement of said at least one spline formed in said first drive spindle.
- 12. The tape cartridge of claim 11 wherein said second spring loaded arm engages a spline formed in said exterior housing of the tape cartridge.
- 13. The tape cartridge of claim 10 wherein said second spring loaded arm engages a spline formed in said exterior housing of the tape cartridge.
- 14. The tape cartridge of claim 13 wherein said second spring loaded arm is hingeably attached to said second drive spindle to concurrently engage a one of said splines formed in said first drive spindle and spline formed in said exterior housing.
- 15. The tape cartridge of claim 9 wherein said second spring loaded arm includes a feature formed thereon to engage an actuator on said tape drive when said tape cartridge is mounted in said tape drive, said actuator being operable to release said lock means to thereby enable said first and second reels to freely rotate.
- 16. The tape cartridge of claim 9 wherein said first and said second spring loaded arms both engage splines formed in said exterior housing of the tape cartridge.
- 17. The tape cartridge of claim 1 wherein said exterior housing substantially has the exterior dimensions of a 3480-type magnetic tape cartridge.
- 18. The tape cartridge of claim 1 wherein said magnetic tape comprises a magnetic tape having a recording surface facing outward when said magnetic tape is wound on said first and said second reels.
- 19. A tape cartridge capable of housing a tape data storage medium, said tape cartridge being capable of being inserted into a tape drive for reading/writing data on said tape data storage medium, and including a tape reel lock mechanism, said tape cartridge comprising:
- a first reel rotating about an axis in a first plane;
- a second reel mounted coaxially with said first reel and rotatable about said axis, rotating in a second plane, which is parallel to said first plane;
- an exterior housing, having a top side, a bottom side thereto for enclosing said first and second coaxially mounted reels, which are rotatably mounted within said exterior housing, said exterior housing being directly mountable in a tape drive;
- a first drive spindle affixed coaxially to said first reel and accessible through an opening formed in said bottom side of said exterior housing for providing a mechanical coupling of said first reel to a tape drive in which said tape cartridge is mounted;
- a second drive spindle affixed coaxially to said second reel, insertable through a coaxial opening in said first reel, and accessible through said opening formed in said bottom side of said exterior housing for providing a mechanical coupling of said second reel to said tape drive; and
- lock means contained within said exterior housing to concurrently lock said first drive spindle and said second drive spindle to prevent movement of said first and said second drive spindles with respect to each other when said tape cartridge is removed from said tape drive, comprising:
- at least one spring loaded arm which functions to concurrently engage said first drive spindle and said second drive spindle via a feature that is extendable through a slot formed in said second drive spindle to engage one of a plurality of splines formed in said first drive spindle.
- 20. The tape cartridge of claim 19 wherein said at least one spring loaded arm engages a spline formed in said exterior housing of the tape cartridge.
- 21. The tape cartridge of claim 20 wherein said at least one spring loaded arm is hingeably attached to said second drive spindle to concurrently engage a one of said splines formed in said first drive spindle and spline formed in said exterior housing.
- 22. The tape cartridge of claim 19 wherein said at least one spring loaded arm includes a feature formed thereon to engage an actuator on said tape drive when said tape cartridge is mounted in said tape drive, said actuator being operable to release said at least one spring loaded arm to thereby enable said first and second reels to freely rotate.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a divisional of a patent application entitled "Coaxial Reel Tape Cartridge With Reduced Tape Forces", Ser. No. 08/527,651, filed Sep. 13, 1995.
US Referenced Citations (10)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2807271 |
Aug 1979 |
DEX |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
527651 |
Sep 1995 |
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