Abstract: An optical tape cartridge is disclosed that is suitable for playing by an optical tape player. The tape player provides the cartridge with a voltage supply capable of supplying the optical tape with a relatively high voltage. The tape cartridge includes a sealed cartridge housing and first and second tape reels that are disposed within and freely rotatable in either direction within the housing. The reels act as tape supply and tape take up reels. Also included in the cartridge is an optical tape that has a first surface on an optically recordable side. The tape is wound on and couples the two reels with a tape segment. The tape segment is positioned with the optically recordable side facing outwardly from each of the reels. The tape includes a conductive layer that extends substantially the length of the optical tape. The conductive layer is grounded at least one end. The housing includes a sealed window positioned on a housing surface that is located across a portion of the tape segment.

Abstract: A cartridge changing apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of holders, each holding a cartridge with a disc inserted therein, a pair of base carriers each having a gripping portion for gripping a pin fixed to one of the plurality of holders and each engaged with one of a pair of screw shafts so as to be able to move back and forth as the screw shafts are rotated, and a pair of slide carriers which are combined with the base carriers and can be moved on the screw shafts together with the base carriers, respectively. Cartridges are replaced by the back and forth movement of the pair of the carriers. Consequently, it is possible to simplify the carrier construction, eliminate the necessity of providing a plurality of gripping functions for one set of the carriers, thereby leading to reduction of required parts and further, make the carriers move vertically without interfering with anything at a position in which unloading is completed, thereby leading to reduction of operating time.

Abstract: Using a thermoplastic norbornene type plastic as a material for the magnetic disc substrate, a magnetic disc substrate having a small deformation and a high modulus of elasticity is prepared. By optimizing the thickness of the substrate, the resonance frequency of the magnetic disc can be elevated to a level higher than the servo band. As a result, a magnetic disc substrate can form a servo mark having a high positional precision, and can carry out tracking with high precision.

Abstract: A magnetic recording system uses an improved spin valve magnetoresistive (SVMR) sensor. The SVMR sensor has a self-pinned laminated layer as the pinned ferromagnetic layer in place of the conventional single-layer pinned layer. Because this laminated layer is "self-pinned", a hard bias or exchange bias layer is not needed. The self-pinned laminated layer has at least two ferromagnetic films antiferromagnetically coupled to one another across a thin antiferromagnetically (AF) coupling film. Since the two ferromagnetic films in this laminated layer have their magnetic moments aligned antiparallel, their two magnetic moments can be made to essentially cancel by making the two ferromagnetic films of substantially the same thickness. The magnetic field energy generated by the signal field acting on this laminated layer will be significantly less than the effective anisotropy energy of the laminated layer.

Abstract: An "ironless" bearing spindle motor for rotating at least one disc about a central axis in a data storage device comprises a housing, a stationary member, a hub, and a stator. A rotor magnet is attached to the hub. A bearing interconnects the hub with the stationary member such that the hub and rotor magnet are rotatable about the central axis. The stator is coaxial with the hub and includes an ironless stator winding. The ironless stator winding minimizes low-harmonic acoustic vibration peaks in the spindle motor, resulting in a spindle motor having a very quiet operation.

Abstract: In a tape loading mechanism, a guide groove is formed in a main plate and a drum base that defines the path of a movable tape guide. Each of the main plate and the drum base is provided with a step portion in the thickness direction at a joining area where the drum base is joined to the main plate. These step portions overlap with each other. By using this joining method, a die cast drum base can be thinned so that the dimensional accuracy is improved and a movable tape guide can be moved smoothly along the guide groove.

Abstract: A compact read/write head is provided having a biased GMR element. Biasing of the GMR element provides distinguishable response to the rising and falling edges of a recorded pulse on an adjacent medium. It also improves the linearity of the response and helps to reduce noise.

Abstract: An optical disc accommodation or storage device permitting storage of an optical disc in a readily visible, neat and stable state, while also permitting the insertion and removal of the optical disc quickly and smoothly without causing damage to a record portion of the disc or the accommodation device.The device comprises a sheet 2 having an optical disc accommodation recess member 5. The optical disc accommodation recess member 5 is formed with stopper walls 11a for contacting a portion of the outer periphery of an optical disc 3 accommodated in the optical disc accommodation recess member 5. Therefore, the disc 3 is prevented from being deteached from the optical disc accommodation recess member 5. The outer edge of the optical disc accommodation member is provided with optical disc retaining pieces 6 to 8 projecting toward the center of the optical disc accommodation recess member 5 for clamping the optical disc 3 in cooperation with the bottom surface of the recess member 5.

Abstract: A self-winding spring starter for rotating data storage devices. The spring is fixed on one end to a chassis or a cowling. The spring selectively engages the rotating assembly at its other end via a clutch when the rotating assembly is being stopped. The assembly stops, reverses, and fully stops again before being locked into place by a brake. The spring thus winds, unwinds, and re-winds, cocking itself in the appropriate direction for re-start.

Abstract: A thin film magnetic device includes an organic insulating layer of a raised shape and a soft magnetic alloy thin film covering the organic insulating layer. The soft magnetic alloy thin film has a composition which varies to provide a magneto-striction distribution such that magnetostriction is positive or negative in a top region and negative or positive in a bottom region of the raised shape whereby the device has uniaxial anisotropy in a desired direction.

Abstract: The invention relates to a device for changing modes of a cassette tape recorder, which facilitates reduction of power consumption as well as reduction of noise. A selection gear, hinged on a selection lever, is disengaged from the main gear during which play, record, reverse play, or reverse record mode is selected, during which the selection gear has been engaged with the main gear in stop condition. This prevents movement of the selection lever, unnecessary rotation of the selection gear, and accordingly, prevents the motor driving the main gear from being overloaded.The device for changing over of modes of a cassette tape recorder includes a transmission lever fixed on a pinch gear shaft for being primarily rotated by a solenoid lever and for being secondarily rotated by a cam gear when play, record, reverse play, and reverse record mode is selected. A selection lever is movably fixed on the same shaft with a main gear, and is movable in an up and down direction.

Abstract: An ejector apparatus of a tray device is provided. The tray device movably seats within the space of an electronic equipment. The ejector apparatus includes a support and an ejector. The support has a attachment apparatus adapted to mount on a chassis of the electronic equipment. The ejector pushes the tray device out of the electronic equipment in response to a force applied from the outside of the electronic equipment. The ejector is pivotally connected to the support.

Abstract: A floating head slider includes a slider main body and a read/write element. The slider main body has an air bearing surface opposing a magnetic disk and a plurality of rails which are formed on the air bearing surface in an air flow-in direction and is in contact with the magnetic disk in a non-floating state. The air bearing surface receives an air flow generated by rotation of the magnetic disk, thereby causing the slider main body to float from a magnetic disk surface. The read/write element is formed in the slider substantially parallelly to the air bearing surface and has a front gap portion, bent to be formed at an air flow trailing edge portion of the air bearing surface, for electromagnetically reading/writing information.

Abstract: Within the housing of a flexible disc apparatus, a lead screw is rotatably laid along one side of the housing outside of a disc cartridge accommodation space, the lead screw piercing through bearing holes formed in a guide block from which two carriage arms are extending into the accommodation space, and carrying respectively thereon reading heads for picking up signals from a disc in a flexible disc cartridge loaded in the accommodation space, the distal end of the lower carriage arm is slidably engaged with a guide plate while the guide block and the lead screw are engaged with each other through the intermediary of a lead pin fixed to the guide block; thereby when the lead screw is rotated by a rotary drive mechanism, the guide block and upper and lower carriage arms is pitch-fed, and as a result, the reading heads are fed radially of the disc on the upper and lower surfaces thereof.

Abstract: A disk reproducing apparatus is provided with first and second trays which can reciprocate between a reproducing area for storing therein a reproducing unit and a stand-by area adjacent to the reproducing area. The first and second trays are interchangeable by moving the second tray in an opposite direction to the first tray along a path formed at a higher position than that for the first tray. In this interchanging operation, the second tray being moved from said stand-by area to said reproducing area is lowered from a height position of the path situated above the first tray preferably to the same height position as the first tray set in said reproducing area. Since the described arrangement offers a smaller height difference between the first and second trays in the reproducing area, a stroke of the up-and-down movement of the reproducing unit can be made smaller, thereby achieving a reduction in size of the apparatus.

Abstract: In a disk drive, a stationary air guide for channeling windage flowing proximate a surface of a single rotating disk toward an air vane of an air vane actuator latch. The air guide has two members, a first member is positioned partially over an upper surface of the disk and a second member is positioned partially over a lower surface of the disk. The air guide members are proximate the respective surfaces in a spaced apart parallel relation thereto. Each air guide member further contains a shrouding member that maintains the air flow near the disk surface and a channeling member that channels the air flow toward the air vane. As such, windage from the rotating disk is channeled to a distal end of the air vane such that sufficient torque is produced by the windage from the single rotating disk to unlatch the latch mechanism.

Abstract: A record playing device includes a record magazine that contains record holders with records located in superimposed storage compartments. A record playback unit is located adjacent the record magazine and a travelling transport device conveys a desired record with the record holder back and forth between a selected storage compartment and the playback unit. A lifting and lowering device is disposed above the playback unit and includes a vertically extending guide rod and a holding mechanism seated to glide on the guide rod. A bracket is fixed to the holding mechanism and includes a record hold-down element for receiving a record holder with a record. A motor-driven eccentric control is coupled to the holding mechanism for lowering and lifting the holding mechanism together with the bracket along the guide rod.

Abstract: A pivot assembly for an actuator arm of a disk drive is disclosed. The housing of the actuator arm is supported on a shaft by two or more bearings. An assembly load is applied to the housing relative to the shaft such that the assembly load is carried by only one of the bearings. The axial location of the housing relative to the shaft with the assembly load applied is observed as a reference location. The assembly load is removed. One of the races of a bearing is moved until the housing returns to the reference location. In this state the bearings have a preload which is equal to the assembly load. The preload can be achieved with none of the races being loose-fit, and there is no need for adhesive.

Abstract: In the present invention a magnetic data storage includes disk recesses formed in the magnetic layer. The recesses are located in pairs on opposite sides of the data tracks, and the disk is initialized by applying a magnetic field perpendicular and parallel to the surface of the disk, thereby forming positive magnetic poles at respective edges of the recesses. The read/write head generates a signal as it passes over the pairs of recesses, and this signal is used to adjust the position of the head with respect to the data track. The recesses may advantageously be arranged in a stair step pattern which results in a signal having the same sequential characteristics for adjacent data tracks. The spacing between the recesses may be used to represent ROM data or header information, such as track addresses or synchronization marks.

Abstract: A front mechanism mounted on a chassis loads a cassette in place by causing a first projection and a second projection on each of opposite side portions of a cassette carrying tray to slide along respective guide grooves formed in each of side plates. Power is transmitted from a drive cam gear provided on the rear side of the chassis to the tray via a drive mechanism, intermediate gear and rotary gear. For loading, the tray initially starts to move as inclined with the first projection and the second projection sliding along slanting grooves and is thereafter lowered by sliding movement of the projection along a vertical groove and sliding movement of the projection along a descent groove while being corrected from the inclined position to a horizontal position. Upon completion of cassette loading, the intermediate gear and the rotary gear constitute a Geneva stop, and the drive cam gear disengages from the drive mechanism.