Alternating advance and backspace tape drive

Claim 1

A DATA HANDLING DEVICE FOR RECORDING DATA AND SUBSEQUENTLY SENSING SAID DATA, COMPRISING: DATA RECORD MEANS MOVABLE IN A FORWARD DIRECTION AND A REVERSE DIRECTION ALONG A CONFINED PATH; TRANSDUCER MEANS MOUNTED ADJACENT SAID PATH, SAID TRANSDUCER MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR RECORDING DATA ON SAID DATA RECORD MEANS AND MEANS FOR SENSING DATA ON SAID DATA RECORD MEANS; LIMIT MEANS MOUNTED TO MOVE ALONG SAID PATH; FIRST RELEASABLY DETENT MEANS FOR SECURING SAID LIMIT MEANS AT SELECTED POINTS ON SAID PATH; RESILIENT MEANS BETWEEN SAID RECORD MEANS AND SAID LIMIT MEANS, SAID RESILIENT MEANS BEING BIASED TO DRAW SAID RECORD MEANS AGAINST SAID LIMIT MEANS, THEREBY HOLDING SAID RECORD MEANS AT AN INITIAL POINT OF REFERENCE ON SAID PATH; DRIVE MEANS INCLUDING COUPLING MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID RECORD MEANS IN SAID FORWARD DIRECTION AWAY FROM SAID LIMIT MEANS, FURTHER BIASING SAID RESILIENT MEANS, SAID COUPLING MEANS COMPRISING CLUTCH MEANS FOR DE-CLUPLING SAID DRIVE MEANS FROM SAID RECORD MEANS, WHEREBY SAID RECORD MEANS IS RETURNED TO SAID INITIAL POINT OF REFERENCE BY THE BIAS FORCE EXERTED BY SAID RESILIENT MEANS; FIRST CONTROL MEANS FOR OPERATING SAID DATA RECORDING MEANS, WHEREBY DATA MAY BE RECORDED ON SAID RECORD MEANS AS SAID RECORD MEANS IS DRIVEN BY SAID DRIVE MEANS IN SAID FORWARD DIRECTION PAST SAID TRANSDUCER MEANS, AND FOR THEREAFTER DE-COUPLING SAID CLUTCH MEANS TO EFFECT SAID RECORD MEANS RETURNING OPERATION OF SAID LAST MENTIONED MEANS; SECOND CONTROL MEANS FOR OPERATING SAID DATA SENSING MEANS AND FOR COUPLING SAID CLUTCH MEANS, WHEREBY DATA RECORDED ON SAID RECORD MEANS MAY BE SENSED AS SAID RECORD MEANS IS DRIVEN BY SAID DRIVE MEANS IN SAID FORWARD DIRECTION PAST SAID TRANSDUCER MEANS; SECOND RELEASABLE DETENT MEANS FOR SECURING SAID RECORD MEANS AT SELECTED POINTS ON SAID PATH; AND THIRD CONTROL MEANS FOR ALTERNATELUY ACTUATING SAID FIRST AND SECOND DETENTS MEANS, WHEREBY SAID RECORD MEANS MAY BE SECURED AT A POINT ON SAID PATH FORWARD OF SAID INITIAL POINT OF REFERENCE AND SAID LIMIT MEANS MAY BE RELEASED TO BE DRAWN BY SAID RESILIENT MEANS INTO CONTACT WITH SAID RECORD MEANS TO ESTABLISH A NEW POINT OF REFERENCE ON SAID PATH IN PREPARATION FOR REPETITION OF SAID RECORDING-SENSING OPERATION ON A SUBSEQUENT SECTION OF SAID RECORD MEANS.