|Publication number||US7944649 B2|
|Application number||US 11/733,814|
|Publication date||May 17, 2011|
|Filing date||Apr 11, 2007|
|Priority date||Apr 11, 2007|
|Also published as||US8199440, US8351145, US20080253031, US20110188153, US20120206833|
|Publication number||11733814, 733814, US 7944649 B2, US 7944649B2, US-B2-7944649, US7944649 B2, US7944649B2|
|Inventors||Darryl W. Yeakley, Frank A. Goodknight|
|Original Assignee||Oracle America, Inc.|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (6), Referenced by (1), Classifications (6), Legal Events (3)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an anti-rotation guide for a media drive transducer.
2. Background Art
Anti-rotation guides for transducers are used in media drives to inhibit rotational movement of a transducer when the direction of tape movement is reversed with respect to a tape head. Examples of transducer positioning devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,437,946 and 6,985,430.
Anti-rotation guides for transducers are generally preloaded to remove play and minimize undesirable head movements. The most common method of preloading is to use springs that bias the anti-rotation guides. Spring preloading mechanisms may be a source of reliability and performance issues. Reliability and performance problems may arise due to component fatigue, component wear, and unpredictable frictional forces that may occur at preload component interfaces. Such reliability and performance problems may contribute to poor actuator performance and reduced anti-rotation guide and head actuator product life.
Anti-rotation guide spring preload mechanisms are small parts of considerable complexity. The cost of assembling such small, complex parts increases the cost of assembling the anti-rotation guides and head actuator assemblies.
The present invention is directed to overcoming the above problems as summarized below.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a transducer positioning apparatus is provided that supports a read/write head on a data storage machine. One embodiment of the transducer positioning apparatus comprises a base that includes a linear drive motor. The transducer positioning apparatus also has a support frame to which the read/write head is secured. The support frame is reciprocally driven by the linear drive motor relative to the base. A magnetic coupling is provided between the base and the support frame that resists movement of the frame other than the reciprocal movement of the support frame relative to the base.
According to another aspect of the invention, the magnetic coupling of the transducer positioning apparatus includes a magnet having a magnetic flux field. A ball and a magnetically attracted member are both disposed in the magnetic flux field. The magnetic flux field captures the ball between the magnet and the magnetically attracted member while permitting the magnet and the member to move relative to each other linearly with the ball rolling therebetween.
According to still further aspects of the invention, the magnet may be provided on the base with the magnetically attracted member being provided on the frame. Alternatively, the magnet may be provided on the frame with the magnetically attracted member being provided on the base. In either case, the magnetically attracted member may be a magnet.
According to the another aspect of the invention, an anti-rotation guide is provided for a transducer positioning apparatus of a data storage machine. The anti-rotation guide has a base and a tower extending from the base. A frame is attached to the tower. A transducer head reads and writes data to a storage medium, such as a data storage tape. The transducer head is secured to the frame for limited movement along the tower and toward and away from the base. The transducer head is pivotable to a limited extent relative to the tower about a pivot axis when the storage medium reverses direction. The anti-rotation guide comprises a magnetically attracted portion of the frame that is radially spaced from the pivot axis. A ball is disposed near the magnetically attracted portion of the frame. A magnet attached to the tower acts upon a magnetically attracted portion of the frame to bias the transducer head against rotation about the pivot axis when the storage medium reverses direction. The head rolls on the ball relative to the magnetically attracted portion.
According to other aspects of the invention as it relates to the anti-rotation guide, the ball may be disposed between the magnetically attracted portion of the frame and the magnet. The transducer head rolls on the ball as the head moves toward and away from the base. The anti-rotation guide may further comprise a linear guide track that guides the movement of the frame relative to the tower. The linear guide track may be split into two portions with the first portion being disposed above the magnetically attracted portion of the anti-rotation flange and a second portion being disposed below the magnetically attracted portion of the anti-rotation flange. The tower may provide a slot between the first and second portions of the track in which the magnetically attracted portion of the anti-rotation flange is received. The anti-rotation guide may further comprise a ball disposed between the magnetically attracted portion of the anti-rotation flange and the magnet. The transducer head rolls on the ball as the head moves toward and away from the base. A wear plate may be disposed between the magnet and the ball.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a method of retaining a movable head of a transducer on a base. The transducer used in the method includes a linear motor that operatively engages a frame that supports the head. The frame and the base define an anti-rotation guide for the head. The anti-rotation guide may have a ball disposed between a magnetically attracted portion of the frame (for example, an anti-rotation flange) and a magnet disposed on the base. The method comprises providing a magnetic field that retains the ball in engagement between the magnetically attracted portion of the frame and the magnet. Movement of the tape is tracked in a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel for the tape. A representative signal is provided to a controller that is representative of the movement of the tape in the perpendicular direction. The frame supporting the head is driven by the linear motor in the linear direction in response to a signal from the controller that is based on the representative signal. Rotation of the frame relative to the base is resisted by the magnetic field when the tape changes direction.
According to another aspect of the method of present invention, the magnetically attracted portion of the frame may further comprise an anti-rotation flange extending away from the head that is received by the base. The method further comprises the step of biasing the flange against rotation relative to the head in the direction of travel of the tape.
These and other aspects of the present invention will be better understood in view of the attached drawings and the following detailed description of the illustrated embodiment of the invention.
The base assembly 12 includes a base 22 and a linear motor 24. The linear motor 24 has a plurality of legs 26 that operatively engage the head assembly 14 to move the head assembly 14 in a linear direction reciprocally relative to the base 22. The base assembly 12 also includes a tower 28 that extends from the base 22.
The head assembly 14 includes a frame 30 that defines a head support 32. The frame 30 also includes a tripod support 34 that is connected to the three legs 26 of the linear motor 24. A head 36 is attached to the head support 32. The head 36 is a read/write head which may also be referred to as a transducer head that is used to read and write data to a data storage tape or other data storage medium.
First and second lower movable tracks 48, 50 are provided on the frame 30 of the head assembly 14 at locations below the upper movable tracks 38, 40, as viewed in
The track 16 guides movement of the frame 30 in conjunction with the tower 28. The frame 30 is moved by the linear motor 24 that has legs 26 that engage the tripod support 34 of the frame 30. The linear motor 24 drives the legs 26 in a linear direction reciprocally in response to control signals received from a controller (not shown).
The magnetic coupling system 18 is described by reference to
The legs 26 of the linear motor 24 engage the tripod support 34 of the head assembly 14 to reciprocally drive the head assembly 14 to track movement of the data storage tape perpendicular to the direction of movement of the data storage tape. Base wear plates 70 and head wear plates 68 are shown on the first and second magnets 60, 62 and on the first and second magnetically attracted members 64, 66, respectively. The wear plates 68, 70 are made of hardened steel or ceramic and reduce wear occurring as a result of the movement of the head assembly 14 as it rolls on the balls 46, 56.
While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
|Cited Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US5793574||Sep 10, 1996||Aug 11, 1998||Quantum Corporation||Tape head actuator assembly having a shock suppression sleeve|
|US5818668||Jul 24, 1997||Oct 6, 1998||Hewlett-Packard Company||Compact tape drive head positioning system|
|US5949619||Jan 2, 1998||Sep 7, 1999||International Business Machines Corporation||Servo actuated read/write head actuator assembly for a tape drive|
|US6437946||Mar 27, 2001||Aug 20, 2002||Storage Technology Corporation||Coarse and fine positioning device employing a single driving mechanism|
|US6594118||Oct 10, 2000||Jul 15, 2003||Seagate Removable Storage Solutions Llc||Suspension system for a head-carriage assembly for a magnetic tape drive|
|US6985430||Nov 18, 2003||Jan 10, 2006||Storage Technology Corporation||Transducer positioning device|
|Citing Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US8351145||Apr 18, 2012||Jan 8, 2013||Oracle America, Inc.||Method retaining a moveable head assembly with an anti-rotation guide for a transducer|
|Cooperative Classification||G11B5/5928, G11B5/584|
|European Classification||G11B5/592A4L, G11B5/584|
|Apr 11, 2007||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: SUN MICROSYSTEMS, INC., CALIFORNIA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:YEAKLEY, DARRYL W.;GOODKNIGHT, FRANK A.;REEL/FRAME:019145/0849
Effective date: 20070405
|Oct 22, 2014||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 4
|Dec 16, 2015||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: ORACLE AMERICA, INC., CALIFORNIA
Free format text: MERGER AND CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNORS:ORACLE USA, INC.;SUN MICROSYSTEMS, INC.;ORACLE AMERICA, INC.;REEL/FRAME:037311/0101
Effective date: 20100212