Did You Know...
...that Robert Adler has the dubious distinction of being the Father of the Couch Potato? Back in 1955 Adler was employed by what was then Zenith Radio Corp., where he was charged to invent something that would allow viewers to turn down the TV volume without leaving their chairs. After a series of flops (such as a wired contraption that people tripped over), Adler hit on the idea of using sound waves. Thus the Remote Control was born...
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7586708 | Tape drive for avoiding tape stiction A method for avoiding tape stiction is provided with a tape drive with a pair of motors for driving a pair of tape reels for conveying data tape across one or more read/write heads. Tachometers measure rotation of the pair of tape reels. Motion of the tape is starte... | 09/08/2009 |
| 7364106 | Compensation for tape breakage in a tape drive Disclosed are a system, a method, and an article of manufacture to provide for the detection and compensation of tape breakage in a tape drive. The invention operates by simultaneously monitoring the tape reel rotation direction and the ratio of rotation between the... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7175122 | Compensation for tape breakage in a tape drive Disclosed are a system, a method, and an article of manufacture to provide for the detection and compensation of tape breakage in a tape drive. The invention operates by simultaneously monitoring the tape reel rotation direction and the ratio of rotation between the... | 02/13/2007 |
| 6937706 | System and method for data recording A system and method for monitoring a telephone switching environment. In a preferred embodiment the system and method simultaneously monitor both an SMDR link and a real-time CTI link, gather information about calls from both sources, and combine gathered informatio... | 08/30/2005 |
| 6937416 | Process for controlling the capstan in a video tape recorder (VTR) In a video tape recorder (VTR), the capstan draws the tape from which the video signal is reproduced in a forward direction. The following steps are used to control the capstan, applying a torque to the capstan in a backward direction for a first predetermined perio... | 08/30/2005 |
| 6934109 | Apparatus and method to monitor the relative position of a tape medium disposed in a tape drive A method to monitor the relative position of a magnetic tape disposed in a tape drive, where that tape drive includes a first tape reel motor and a second tape reel motor. The method provides a magnetic tape disposed on a first tape reel, and releaseably attaches th... | 08/23/2005 |
| 6704155 | Tape stopping mechanism In a high-speed tape winding operation of a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus, stable tape-stopping operation without generating any damages of the tape. In addition to the mechanical braking means, a reverse braking force is applied to a drive... | 03/09/2004 |
| 6580578 | Method and apparatus for presenting both sides of a media to a read/write head in a storage device A method and apparatus in a data storage system for accessing a tape storage media, wherein the tape storage media has a first side and a second side for storing data. The tape storage media is received at a reel. The reel is rotatable in a first directio... | 06/17/2003 |
| 6542323 | Tape-thickness measuring method, and tape-running control method using the tape-thickness measuring method A tape running control method in which a tape runs between a supply reel and a take-up reel, and a rotation speed of said take-up reel is controlled by using rotation periods of said supply reel and said take-up reel, whereby a running speed of said tape ... | 04/01/2003 |
| 6466390 | Recording and/or reproducing device for magnetic tape A recording and/or reproducing apparatus for a magnetic tape includes a supply side reel gear a takeup side reel gear, a tape guide drum about which the magnetic tape pulled out from a tape cassette is wound, a tape loading mechanism for pulling out the m... | 10/15/2002 |
| 6257515 | Magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus detecting end of tape by counting motor signals per supply-reel revolution A magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus feeds magnetic tape from a supply reel to a take-up reel driven by a motor. Sensors generate signals responsive to each revolution of the supply reel and to the rotation of the motor. An end-of-tape detector ... | 07/10/2001 |
| 6175464 | Autoreverse mechanism An auto reverse mechanism in a tape recorder system having a single magnetic head for forward playback (recording) and a single magnetic head for reverse playback (recording), both mounted on a head base, comprises a select lever for selecting between for... | 01/16/2001 |
| 6104023 | Reel rotation detecting device in a video cassette recorder A reel sensor for detecting the number of rotations or the rotation condition of a tape winding reel employed in a video cassette recorder, for example. The reel sensor includes a light conductive element formed of a light transmissible material and inclu... | 08/15/2000 |
| 6101309 | Method for detecting leading and trailing ends of video tape A method for detecting the leading and trailing ends of a video tape, which is capable of achieving an accurate detection without using any separate detecting means. The method includes the steps of determining whether or not the video tape runs at a high... | 08/08/2000 |
| 6093925 | Reel sensor and start/finish end detecting device In a reel sensor for a start/finish and detecting device in which a light from a light-emitting element is radiated into an incident light window formed in a video cassette and a start/finish end of a video tape is detected based on an intensity of a ligh... | 07/25/2000 |
| 6057973 | Method of seeking to tape segment without the use of inter-segment gap A tape drive comprising a processor which determines a position to which to move a recording tape without detecting inter-segment gaps on the tape. The tape drive includes a drive motor which periodically outputs pulses during rotation. The rotation of th... | 05/02/2000 |
| 5940236 | Apparatus for preventing a recording on a video cassette tape loaded in a video cassette recorder A video cassette recorder includes an arm for connecting an intermediate gear driven by a capstan motor and an idler gear, a reel sensor for recognizing whether a supply reel table rotates or not, and a lever for selectively limiting the shifting movement... | 08/17/1999 |
| 5909335 | Tape drive start up and stop tape speed control A speed servo control for a tape drive comprising a take up reel having tape wound therearound, the tape extending to a supply reel and wound therearound. A flutter roller is arranged to press said tape that extends between the take up reel and the supply... | 06/01/1999 |
| 5825574 | Automatic reversible tape recorder An automatic reversible tape recorder is disclosed in which the functions of the keys for fast forward and rewinding are improved, and the manufacturing and assembling are rendered easier owing to the simple structure of the components. The tape recorder ... | 10/20/1998 |
| 5801893 | Method for adaptively detecting tapewrap in cassette tape player A method for adaptively detecting when portion of a magnetic tape is wrapped around a capstan of a magnetic tape cassette player includes the steps of transferring the magnetic tape from a supply reel to a take-up reel for a first rotation of the take-up ... | 09/01/1998 |
| 5734518 | Method and apparatus for determing desired rotational velocity of take-up reel for helical scan recorder Methods and apparatus are provided for determining a servo offset value and a take-up reel velocity for imparting a desired linear velocity to tape in a helical scan recording system (20). The helical scan recorder system records information on a magnetic... | 03/31/1998 |
| 5710676 | Pre-formatting of a storage media having fixed-size partitions A storage media for linear, serpentine recording is pre-formatted for data storage operations by recording partition format information in a single pass along the length of the storage media by recording partition format information for all storage media ... | 01/20/1998 |
| 5689382 | Method and apparatus for determining head parameter for helical scan recorder Methods and apparatus are provided for determining a servo offset value and a take-up reel velocity for imparting a desired linear velocity to tape in a helical scan recording system (20). The helical scan recorder system records information on a magnetic... | 11/18/1997 |
| 5638229 | Method for detecting an information recorded position in an information reproducing apparatus A method for setting an information reader to a target information recorded position on an information recording medium in an information reproducing apparatus includes steps of reading a start position from the medium by the reader, which contacts the me... | 06/10/1997 |
| 5617336 | Method for checking top and end of tape for data recording and reproducing apparatus A method for checking top and end of tape for data recording and reproducing apparatus is disclosed. The method includes a first step for sensing a transparent tape section of a start portion of a tape wound about a tape take-up reel so as to sense the ta... | 04/01/1997 |
| 5600504 | Method and apparatus for detecting tape termini in a tape recorder An apparatus for detecting the starting or ending terminus of a tape by determining the rotatory state of a reel, includes a supply reel pulse generator for generating first pulses in response to rotation of the supply reel, a take-up reel pulse generator... | 02/04/1997 |
| 5576905 | Servo control of bi-directional reel-to-reel tape drives using fine-line tachometers with index lines Air entrainment effects are avoided in a bi-directional, reel-to-reel tape transport in which magnetic tape can be moved in either of two opposing directions for data recording thereon. Control of tape position is implemented in a servo algorithm that use... | 11/19/1996 |
| 5563747 | Method for correcting the counter distortions in VCR A method for correcting the counter distortions in a VCR for compensating the distortion due to the difference between winding and unwinding amounts of tape when power is turned off and then turned on. During the time from the start of power turning-off t... | 10/08/1996 |
| 5523895 | Recording and/or reproducing apparatus A recording/reproducing apparatus includes recording medium transporter. A counter counts a number of pulses corresponding to a distance moved by the recording medium in a first fixed period that includes the instant at which the recording medium starts t... | 06/04/1996 |
| 5517321 | Video tape recorder having automatic rewinding capability A video tape recorder measures the time remaining on a tape and compares this with the time programmed for a timer recording. If not enough tape remains to record the entire event, a warning is issued or the tape rewinds to provide room to record the enti... | 05/14/1996 |
| 5506741 | Operation mode change-over device of a tape recorder and a reel rotation stoppage detection mechanism therefor An operation mode change-over device for a tape recorder has a detection mechanism including a detection member comprised of a fine wire made of a spring material for detecting a stoppage of a reel rotation. The detection member is disposed in elastic con... | 04/09/1996 |
| 5489071 | Cassette tape player having circuit for detecting reverse rotation of take-up reel A system for preventing improper tape feed in a cassette tape player uses pulse width measurements from the take-up reel output signal to sense normal or aberrant tape feeding conditions. The pulse width of the output signal is compared with a predetermin... | 02/06/1996 |
| 5475542 | Method and apparatus for improving inter-block gap length tolerance and locate accuracy for write appends A method and apparatus for accurately locating targeted append points in a tape drive. The effects of interlayer slip (ILS) are eliminated and smaller IBGs are possible thus providing increased data capacity for a given tape cartridge. A coarse tachometer... | 12/12/1995 |
| 5418662 | Cassette loading system for recording and reproducing apparatus that switches from both reels powered to only one reel powered during withdrawal of tape into cassette A recording and/or reproducing apparatus draws a recording tape out of a cassette and places the tape around a rotary drum having at least one head to perform recording and/or reproducing. The supply-side and take-up-side reels are rotated to wind the tap... | 05/23/1995 |
| 5400980 | Tape driving apparatus A tape driving apparatus includes circuits for driving a supply reel and a take-up reel, circuits for detecting tape radii on the reels, a circuit for producing take-up side torque information and controlling the take-up reel, a circuit for setting a dete... | 03/28/1995 |
| 5354013 | Tape cassette fast forward clutch A tape cassette having a clutch mounted therein to permit rotation of the base reel and take-up reel in a first direction below a predetermined speed and prohibit rotation of the reels in the first direction above the predetermined speed. The tape compris... | 10/11/1994 |
| 5339200 | Signal recording apparatus with rerecording facility The present invention provides an improvement in the function of automatically rewinding a tape-shaped recording medium to an immediately previous recording start position or to an immediately previous stop position, and the accuracy of this rewinding is ... | 08/16/1994 |
| 5309300 | Beginning/end of tape detection system This invention is a beginning-of-tape/end-of-tape detection apparatus and method for use in a tape drive system having supply reel, take-up reel, and capstan motion sensors. The invention comprises monitoring means for monitoring each of the angular posit... | 05/03/1994 |
| 5152477 | Electronic detection device for detecting the ending of the rewinding of a video cassette rewinder An electronic device for detecting the conclusion of the rewinding cycle of a video cassette rewinder. When the rewinding cycle is completed, a detection circuit and capacitive level sensing circuit device detect this fact by the signal being sent and tra... | 10/06/1992 |
| 5087993 | Magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus with adjustable capstan speed A magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus is arranged to be loaded with a supply reel and a take-up reel with a magnetic tape wound around them, to move the tape from the supply reel to the take-up reel by driving and rotating forward the two reels a... | 02/11/1992 |
