Abstract: A magnetic head is mounted on a carriage which is movable radially with respect to a disc. The carriage is slidable on two balls rolling in a groove in a guide pivoted to the base and pressed against the carriage by a spring. The carriage is moved by a drive roller which rolls against a track on the carriage opposite to the guide.The roller is connected to the carriage by means of a flexible metal strip which is fixed to the roller at the center and to the carriage at its ends. The guide which is pivoted on the base makes it impossible automatically to take up clearances between the carriage and the guide. The carriage may be of very small dimensions and weight so that the reduced inertia of the carriage enhances the degree of precision of the movements of the head from one track on the magnetic disc to another.

Abstract: A recording and reproducing apparatus for magnetic discs, each one contained in a protective case (23), comprises a frame (11) having a front slot (20) for the insertion of a case (23). The disc case (23) slides into a support unit (30) spaced above a driving hub (81) and a magnetic head (90) mounted on a carriage (91). The support unit (30) is urged downardly by springs (37) but is held in the raised position by pins (32, 33) trapped in slots (54) of tongues (50 to 53) upstanding from a slider (45). The disc case engages a lever (70) which turns clockwise and engages a lever (61) to turn this also clockwise. The lever (61) disengages from an edge of the slider (45) which moves forwardly under the action of a spring (48) to free the pins (32, 33) and allow the support unit (30) to drop down vertically, guided by the pins (32, 33) in vertical slots (34, 35). The lever (70) may additionally push a cover of the disc case laterally to uncover slots (24) in the disc case.

Abstract: An apparatus for recording flexible magnetic disks contained in envelopes comprises a mandrel engageable with a central zone of the disk to rotate the disk within the envelope, and a carriage 41 which is movable radially relative to the disk and on which there is mounted a pair of magnetic heads which oppose each other and make contact with the magnetizable surfaces of the disk. The upper head is carried by a support (85) movable on the carriage and urged by a first spring (87) toward the disk. A presser pad, which presses the envelope containing the disk against a reference surface of the appartaus, is lowered by an electromagnet which also causes the upper head to lower. A lost-motion form of coupling enables the pad and upper head to carry out independently adjustable travel strokes, so minimizing any recoil.

Abstract: An apparatus for recording flexible magnetic disks contained in envelopes comprises a mandrel engageable with a central zone of the disk to rotate the disk within the envelope, and a carriage 41 which is movable radially relative to the disk and on which there is mounted a pair of magnetic heads which oppose each other and make contact with the magnetisable surfaces of the disk. The carriage 41 is moved on guides 48 by a stepping motor shaft 44 by way of a pair of flexible strips 50, 51 which are partly wound about a hub 59 on the shaft 44. The ends of the strips are retained by longitudinal pins 70 loosely fitted into an eccentric bore in the hub 59 without the aid of screws. Pegs 71 on the pins 70 pass through holes in the ends of the strips 50 and 51 and are arrested against the motor shaft 44. A presser pad, which presses the envelope containing the disk against a reference surface of the apparatus, is lowered by an electromagnet which also causes the upper head to lower.

Abstract: The apparatus is adapted to simultaneously treating a pair of magnetic tape cassettes. The apparatus comprises two pairs of hubs, which cooperate with the reels of the magnetic tapes, and which can rotate in both directions at a substantially constant angular speed under the control of a single electric motor. A pair of magnetic heads are employed for writing and/or reading binary information on the two tapes. The data read by the heads are regarded as information only if they exceed a predetermined threshold value defined by a voltage generator. A control circuit, comprising a variable gain amplifier, maintains the ratio between the peak of the data detected and the value of the threshold substantially constant, taking into account the variations of the linear speed of the tapes.