Abstract: In an optical disk according to the present invention, a part of a disk is heat pressed to thereby connect a clamping plate to the central part of the disk. The heat pressed part of the optical disk is heat pressed into a discontinuous form during connection of the clamping plate to the disk. An apparatus for manufacturing such an optical disk connects the clamping plate to the disk by heat pressing a part of the disk onto which the clamping plate is mounted. This is carried out by a pressing surface of a heat press member. The heat press member is provided in its annular pressing surface with radially elongated grooves, so as to divide the annular pressing surface into a plurality of portions by the grooves.

Abstract: In the optical disk manufacturing method a clamping plate is placed in the cavity of a disk body and the disk body is heated and compressed to connect the clamping plate to the disk body. Prior to connecting the clamping plate, a groove is established around the perimeter of the clamping plate. A disk body with or without a groove has its target surface compressed by a heat press while a region outside the target surface perimeter is pressed by an upper pressure surface to connect the clamping plate without creating a protrusion from the upper surface of the disk.

Abstract: A 3.5 inch floppy disk is provided with a nonwoven microfiber positioned between the thin magnetic disk and the rigid shell. The liner is fixed to the inside surface of the shell, and has a disk head slot cut out corresponding to the location of the disk head opening in the shell. A specified fiber orientation in the liner's nonwoven material provides it with more tensile strength in a longitudinal direction than in a lateral direction. Cutting the disk head slot in the lateral direction reduces the fiber protrusion and loose cuttings at the edges, and thereby reduces bit errors.

Abstract: An apparatus for winding magnetic tape into a cassette positions and holds a cassette case, extracts and retains leader tape, cuts and splices leader tape to magnetic tape, and winds magnetic tape onto a hub inside the cassette case. After a predetermined amount of magnetic tape has been wound on the hub, the magnetic tape is retained, cut, spliced to leader tape, and the extracted slack tape is wound into the cassette case. The tape retaining mechanism has a first and second tape retainer which separately hold the cut ends of leader tape, and a third tape retainer which holds the cut end of magnetic tape. The first and second tape retainers attach to the extracted leader tape, and are positioned with their attachment surfaces adjacent to a front cavity of the cassette case. Once the leader tape has been cut, one of the first and second tape retainers is swung away from the cavity to separate the cut tape ends.

Abstract: An apparatus for loading reel hubs into cassette cases is provided for small cassette cases that have a sliding hub lock which interlocks with a pivoting front cover. The apparatus comprises a cassette case retainer, a front cover opening and closing device, and a reel hub holder. The front cover opening and closing device has an alignment means to align sliding hub lock catches with front cover catches insuring that the sliding hub lock is pulled forward when the front cover is opened. Reel hubs are loaded into an open cassette case with the front cover lifted and the sliding hub lock pulled away from the positions into which the hubs are loaded.

Abstract: An apparatus for winding magnetic tape is provided with a splicing means that greatly improves splicing tape transfer and application reliability. The apparatus comprises retainers for holding leader and magnetic tapes, a cutter for cutting leader and magnetic tapes, a splicing means, and a hub rotating means. The splicing means is provided with a splicing tape feed assembly which feeds splicing tape by the back and forth motion of a feed block which overlaps with an adjacent coplanar retaining block. The feed block and retaining block alternately attach to opposite sides of the splicing tape's nonadhesive surface to reliably advance splicing tape to an applicator block in a linear fashion without tape curl or droop. The applicator block is transported close to the tape cassette to accomplish splicing without superfluous tape extraction.

Abstract: An apparatus for winding magnetic tape into a cassette positions and holds a cassette case, extracts and retains leader tape, cuts and splices leader tape to magnetic tape, and winds magnetic tape onto a hub inside the cassette. After a given amount of magnetic tape has been wound on that hub, the magnetic tape is retained, cut, spliced to leader tape, and the extracted slack tape is wound into the cassette case. Leader tape is extracted by extraction guides or rollers that move from a standby position within the cassette case front cavity to a position for winding magnetic tape. The magnetic tape winding position is such that leader tape, extracted to that position, is pulled away fron one of the cassette's internal tape guides, and during the magnetic tape winding process one extraction guide doubles as a tape tracking guide. Magnetic tape can be wound evenly, at high speeds and without damage by avoiding contact with the cassette's internal tape guide.

Abstract: An apparatus for winding magnetic tape into a cassette positions and holds a cassette case, extracts and retains leader tape, cuts and splices leader tape to magnetic tape, and winds magnetic tape onto a hub inside the cassette case. After a predetermined amount of magnetic tape has been wound on the hub, the magnetic tape is retained, cut, spliced to leader tape, and the extracted slack tape is wound into the cassette case. The tape retaining mechanism has a first and second tape retainer which separately hold the cut ends of leader tape, and a third tape retainer which holds the cut end of magnetic tape. The first and second tape retainers attach to the extracted leader tape, and are positioned with their attachment surfaces adjacent to an open guard panel of the cassette case. The tape retainer attachment surfaces hold tape in a manner that essentially closes the cassette case front cavity.

Abstract: An apparatus for winding magnetic tape into a cassette case positions and hold a cassette case, extracts and retains leader tape, cuts and splices leader tape to magnetic tape, and winds magnetic tape onto a hub inside the cassette case. Before a predetermined amount of magnetic tape has been wound, the magnetic tape is retained, cut, spliced to leader tape, and the extracted slack tape is wound into the cassette case. The tape retaining mechanism has a first and a second tape retainer which hold cut ends of the leader tape, and a third tape retainer which holds the cut end of magnetic tape. The second tape retainer is moved to a standby position prior to winding magnetic tape. A jet of air, provided by a nozzle aimed through an opening in the side of the cassette case, applies pressure to the leader tape held by the second retainer to draw slack tape into the cassette case.

Abstract: The disk is aligned by means of a centering device that passes through the disk center hole and possesses a recessed region in its tip which mates with the convex center region of the hub. The hub is held on a stand which is brought into close proximity with the centering device by the movement of either the stand or the centering device or both, thus bringing the hub close to the disk.In other words, the centering device, which holds the disk in place by fitting through the disk center hole, is brought into close proximity with the stand which holds the hub in place. While in close proximity, the hub mates with the recession in the tip of the centering device, thereby achieving mechanical alignment. Since the disk position is accurately fixed with respect to the centering device, the disk is accurately aligned with the hub.

Abstract: This invention loads tape into cassettes which have a zigzag shaped tape track. Positioning pins, which are located apart from the cassette's guide pins, shape the tape to conform to the cassette's zigzag pattern. When the reels are lowered to the cassette for loading, the positioning pins load tape between the guide pins without striking or contacting the guide pins.

Abstract: An apparatus for feeding and discharging reels from a machine for winding video tape on reels of a cassette. The machine has a winder for winding video tape on a pair of reels and a feeder for feeding vacant reels to the winder and taking out the reels with video tape wound thereon. The feeder of the invention has a feeding conveyor for transferring a tray on which a pair of vacant reels are removably mounted, a discharge conveyor for transferring a tray on which a pair of reels with video tape wound thereon is mounted, and a supply and discharge device for connecting the discharge conveyor, the feeding conveyor and the winder.

Abstract: An apparatus for winding video tape on reels of a cassette includes a winding device for winding video tape on the reels and a feeding device for feeding a pair of reels to the winding device, the winding device having two shafts on which two reels can be removably mounted, at least one of the shafts being movable in a direction away from the other, a connecting member for connecting tapes being provided so as to be brought in and out of the path of movement of the movable shaft, the connecting member being out of the path of the reels when the reels are being moved away from each other, and when the reels are spaced from each other, the connecting member is moved in and out of the space between the reels so as to connect the tape wound on the reels with video tape.

Abstract: An apparatus for feeding pairs of reels to a winding position in a winding apparatus for winding video tape on the reels and removing the loaded reels from the winding apparatus. A feeding conveyor feeds trays containing a pair of empty reels removably mounted in the trays to a transfer position and carries trays into which pairs of loaded reels have been placed away from the transfer position. A rotating arm carries holding members at the ends thereof for gripping a pair of reels in a tray at the transfer position and gripping another pair of reels on the winding apparatus at the winding position. Movement of the arm along the axis of rotation removes the reels from the tray and the reels from the winding position, and rotation of the arm switches the reels from the tray to the winding position and vice versa. Thereafter the arm is moved axially to load the empty reels onto the winding machine and the full reels onto the tray.