Flexure mounting plate

Claim 1

A FLEXURE MOUNTING PLATE FOR MOUNTING A PAIR OF MAGNETIC TRANSDUCER HEADS ON A TAPE TRANSPORT TO BE INDEPENDENTLY ALINGNABLE WITH REFERENCE TO A MAGNETIC RECORDING MEDIUM COMPRISING A BASE HAVING A BOTTOM SURFACE ADAPTED TO BE ATTACHED TO A TAPE TRANSPORT, A TOP SURFACE PARALLEL TO THE BOTTOM SURFACE, TWO STRAIGHT PARALLEL ENDS, AND A PLURALITY OF SIDES, FIRST AND SECOND SUBSTANTIALLY IDENTICAL SIDE PLATES, EACH HAVING AN INNER STRAIGHT END DISPOSED ADJACENT THE BASE AND PARALLEL TO THE ENDS OF THE BASE, AN OUTER END, A TOP SURFACE ADAPTED TO CARRY A MAGNETIC TRANSDUCER HEAD, A BOTTOM SURFACE PARALLEL TO THE TOP SURFACE, AND A PLURALITY OF SIDES, FIRST AND SECOND SUBSTANTIALLY IDENTIAL SUPPORT MEMBERS MADE FROM A SPRINGY MATERIAL, EACH OF THE SUPPORT MEMBERS BEING JOINED TO ONE END OF THE BASE AND ALSO TO THE INNER END OF A SIDE PLATE, AND BEING DISPOSED THEREBETWEEN SO THAT THE BASE AND THE ADJACENT SIDE PLATE EXTEND ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE SUPPORT MEMBER, THE SIDE PLATES BEING SEPARATED FROM THE BASE SO THAT THERE IS A FLEXING PORTION OF EACH SUPPORT MEMBER DISPOSED BETWEEN THE PORTION THEREOF JOINED TO THE BASE AND THE PORTION THEREOF JOINED TO THE SIDE PLATE, THE FLEXING PORTION OF EACH SUPPORT MEMBER BEING ADAPTED TO BE MORE FLEXIBLE THAN THE SIDE PLATE JOINED THERETO SO THAT THE FLEXING PORTION OF THE ADJACENT SUPPORT MEMBER WILL BE DEFORMED IN RESPONSE TO FORCES APPLIED TO THE SIDE PLATE JOINED THERETO TENDING TO RAISE AND LOWER THE SAID PLATE, IN ORDER TO PERMIT LIMITED ROTATION OF SAID SIDE PLATE ABOUT AN AXIS DEFINED BY THE MIDSECTION OF THE FLEXING PORTION OF THE SUPPORT MEMBER, THE BOTTOM SURFACES OF THE SIDE PLATES BEING DISPOSED ABOVE THE BOTTOM SURFACE OF THE BASE TO PERMIT MOVEMENT OF THE SIDE PLATES TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE TAPE TRANSPORT TO WHICH THE BOTTOM SURFACE OF THE BASE IS ATTACHED, AND MEANS COOPERATING WITH EACH SIDE PLATE FOR SELECTIVELY APPLYING FORCE TO RAISE AND LOWER THE SIDE PLATE.