Study on Head-tape Interference in VCR's

Abstract

The mutual interference between heads and tapes in VCR's is studied when plural heads afe disposed in adjacent positions. The study is performed for four cases : there are one, two, three and four heads. The influences of tape tension and gaps between multiple heads are analyzed. According to the analyses, it is clarified that the contact area on each of the multiple heads is significantly decreased in comparison with the contact area on a single head. Furthermore, the influence of the protrusion amount differences between the heads is studied. The tape deflection is measured by the optical measurement system using the shadow edge of a straight line. Experimental and analytical results tend to be in close accord with each other. The mutual interference between multiple heads and tapes is clarified and guide data for the head shape design are obtained.