Contact duplication of magnetic signals utilizing a dual-material intermediate including both low t' c 'and high t' c 'material

Claim 2

Method of making direct-image copies of magnetic signals from a master magnetic recording medium onto a copy magnetic recording medium utilizing an intermediate comprising a backing member of low permeability and a magnetizable face comprising a first magnetizable material having high Hc relative to the Hc of the copy medium and a low Curie temperature Tc, and a second magnetizable material having relatively high Tc and low Hc relative to the Hc of the master medium, said method comprising the sequential steps of

Claim 3

copying signals from the master medium onto the high Tc material of the intermediate by magnetically stimulated contact duplication,

Claim 4

copying signals from the master medium onto the high Tc material of the intermediate by magnetically stimulated contact duplication,

Claim 5

providing a belt having a backing member of low permeability and a magnetizable face comprising at least two layers of magnetizable materials, one or more of which layers have an Hc which is high with respect to the coercivity of the copy tape and a low Curie temperature Tc of 50*-200*C, and the alternate of which layer or layers have relatively high Tc and an Hc which is low with respect to the coercivity of the master tape, the outermost of which layers is no thicker than 0.4 micrometer,

Claim 6

providing a belt having a backing member of low permeability and a magnetizable face comprising at least two layers of magnetizable materials, one or more of which layers have an Hc which is high with respect to the coercivity of the copy tape and a low Curie temperature Tc of 50*-200*C, and the alternate of which layer or layers have relatively high Tc and an Hc which is low with respect to the coercivity of the master tape, the outermost of which layers is no thicker than 0.4 micrometer,

Claim 7

an intermediate having a backing member of low permeability and a magnetizable face comprising a first magnetizable layer having an Hc of at least 1,000 oersteds and a Curie temperature Tc 50*-200*C and a second magnetizable layer having an Hc of 100-150 oersteds and a Tc at least 50*C above the Tc of the first magnetizable layer,

Claim 8

an intermediate having a backing member of low permeability and a magnetizable face comprising a first magnetizable layer having an Hc of at least 1,000 oersteds and a Curie temperature Tc 50*-200*C and a second magnetizable layer having an Hc of 100-150 oersteds and a Tc at least 50*C above the Tc of the first magnetizable layer,

Claim 9

an intermediate comprising a backing member of low permeability and a magnetizable face comprising a first magnetizable material having high Hc relative to the Hc of the copy medium and a low Curie temperature Tc and a second magnetizable material of relatively high Tc and low Hc relative to the Hc of the master medium,

Claim 10

an intermediate comprising a backing member of low permeability and a magnetizable face comprising a first magnetizable material having high Hc relative to the Hc of the copy medium and a low Curie temperature Tc and a second magnetizable material of relatively high Tc and low Hc relative to the Hc of the master medium,

Claim 11

means for moving the master medium and the intermediate in intimate face-to-face contact through a magnetic field which exceeds the Hc of the second magnetizable layer but is at least 50 oersteds less than the Hc of the master medium to copy the signals onto the second magnetizable layer,

Claim 12

means for moving the master medium and the intermediate in intimate face-to-face contact through a magnetic field which exceeds the Hc of the second magnetizable layer but is at least 50 oersteds less than the Hc of the master medium to copy the signals onto the second magnetizable layer,

Claim 13

pressing the magnetizable face of the master tape against the magnetizable face of the belt in the presence of a magnetic idealizing field having a field strength intermediate the Hc of the master tape and of the high Tc belt material to copy signals from the master onto the high Tc belt material,

Claim 14

pressing the magnetizable face of the master tape against the magnetizable face of the belt in the presence of a magnetic idealizing field having a field strength intermediate the Hc of the master tape and of the high Tc belt material to copy signals from the master onto the high Tc belt material,

Claim 15

copying the signals from the high Tc material onto the low Tc material of the intermediate by heating the materials to a temperature between approximately the low Tc and below the high Tc and cooling to below the low Tc, and

Claim 16

copying the signals from the high Tc material onto the low Tc material of the intermediate by heating the materials to a temperature between approximately the low Tc and below the high Tc and cooling to below the low Tc, and

Claim 17

means for moving the master medium and the intermediate in intimate face-to-face contact through a magnetic field for stimulating the hIgh Tc material of the intermediate to copy the signals onto the high Tc material,

Claim 18

means for moving the master medium and the intermediate in intimate face-to-face contact through a magnetic field for stimulating the hIgh Tc material of the intermediate to copy the signals onto the high Tc material,

Claim 19

Method as defined in claim 1 including as a subsequent step or steps sequentially copying the signals from the intermediate onto one or more additional copy media by magnetically stimulated contact duplication.

Claim 20

Method of making direct-image copies of magnetic signals from a master magnetic recording tape onto a copy tape comprising the sequential steps of

Claim 21

Method of making direct-image copies of magnetic signals from a master magnetic recording tape onto a copy tape comprising the sequential steps of

Claim 22

copying the signals from the low Tc material of the intermediate onto the copy medium by magnetically stimulated contact duplication.

Claim 23

copying the signals from the low Tc material of the intermediate onto the copy medium by magnetically stimulated contact duplication.

Claim 24

heating the magnetizable materials of the belt to a temperature of approximately the low Tc and below the high Tc and then cooling to below the low Tc to copy signals from the high Tc belt material onto the low Tc belt material,

Claim 25

heating the magnetizable materials of the belt to a temperature of approximately the low Tc and below the high Tc and then cooling to below the low Tc to copy signals from the high Tc belt material onto the low Tc belt material,

Claim 26

means for heating the magnetizable material of the intermediate to a temperature at least approximating the Tc of the first magnetizable layer but below the Tc of the second magnetizable layer and for cooling to a temperature below the Tc of the first magnetizable layer to copy the signals from the second magnetizable layer onto the first magnetizable layer, and

Claim 27

means for heating the magnetizable material of the intermediate to a temperature at least approximating the Tc of the first magnetizable layer but below the Tc of the second magnetizable layer and for cooling to a temperature below the Tc of the first magnetizable layer to copy the signals from the second magnetizable layer onto the first magnetizable layer, and

Claim 28

means for heating the magnetizable material of the intermediate to a temperature at least approximating the low Tc but below the high Tc and for cooling to a temperature below said low Tc to copy the signals from the high Tc material onto the low Tc material of the intermediate, and

Claim 29

means for heating the magnetizable material of the intermediate to a temperature at least approximating the low Tc but below the high Tc and for cooling to a temperature below said low Tc to copy the signals from the high Tc material onto the low Tc material of the intermediate, and

Claim 30

means for moving the intermediate and the copy medium in intimate face-to-face contact through a magnetic field for stimulating the copy medium the signals from the low Tc material onto the copy medium.

Claim 31

means for moving the intermediate and the copy medium in intimate face-to-face contact through a magnetic field for stimulating the copy medium the signals from the low Tc material onto the copy medium.

Claim 32

means for moving the intermediate and the copy medium in intimate face-to-face contact through a magnetic field which exceeds the Hc of the copy medium but is at least 50 oersteds less than the Hc of the first magnetizable material to copy the signals from the first magnetizable layer onto the copy medium.

Claim 33

means for moving the intermediate and the copy medium in intimate face-to-face contact through a magnetic field which exceeds the Hc of the copy medium but is at least 50 oersteds less than the Hc of the first magnetizable material to copy the signals from the first magnetizable layer onto the copy medium.

Claim 34

pressing the magnetizable face of the copy tape against the magnetizable face of the belt in the presence of a magnetic idealizing field having a field strength intermediate the Hc of the copy tape and of the low Tc belt material to copy signals from the belt onto the copy tape, and

Claim 35

pressing the magnetizable face of the copy tape against the magnetizable face of the belt in the presence of a magnetic idealizing field having a field strength intermediate the Hc of the copy tape and of the low Tc belt material to copy signals from the belt onto the copy tape, and

Claim 36

Method as defined in claim 3 including as step (4), successively pressing the magnetizable face of each of a plurality of copy tapes against the magnetizable face of the belt in the presence of successive similar magnetic idealizing fields to copy signals from the low Tc belt material onto each copy tape.

Claim 37

erasing audio signals which were duplicated on the copy tape, and

Claim 38

erasing audio signals which were duplicated on the copy tape, and

Claim 39

reproducing audio signals electronically from the master tape and recording these electronically onto the copy medium in place of the erased audio signals.

Claim 40

reproducing audio signals electronically from the master tape and recording these electronically onto the copy medium in place of the erased audio signals.

Claim 41

Method as defined in claim 1 wherein the master medium is a video tape, including as subsequent steps

Claim 42

magnetically erasing the belt for reuse.

Claim 43

magnetically erasing the belt for reuse.

Claim 44

means for successively moving the intermediate in intimate face-to-face contact with one or more additional copy media in the presence of successive magnetic fields to copy signals from the low Tc material onto the additional copy media.

Claim 45

means for successively moving the intermediate in intimate face-to-face contact with one or more additional copy media in the presence of successive magnetic fields to copy signals from the low Tc material onto the additional copy media.

Claim 46

a playback head or heads positioned for electronic reproduction of the audio track or tracks of the master medium, and

Claim 47

a playback head or heads positioned for electronic reproduction of the audio track or tracks of the master medium, and

Claim 48

System for making direct-image copies of magnetic signals from a master magnetic recording medium onto a copy magnetic recording medium, which system comprises: 1. an intermediate comprising a backing member of low permeability and a magnetizable face comprising a first magnetizable material having high Hc relative to the Hc of the copy medium and a low Curie temperature Tc and a second magnetizable material of relatively high Tc and low Hc relative to the Hc of the master medium, 2. means for moving the master medium and the intermediate in intimate face-to-face contact through a magnetic field for stimulating the hIgh Tc material of the intermediate to copy the signals onto the high Tc material, 3. means for heating the magnetizable material of the intermediate to a temperature at least approximating the low Tc but below the high Tc and for cooling to a temperature below said low Tc to copy the signals from the high Tc material onto the low Tc material of the intermediate, and 4. means for moving the intermediate and the copy medium in intimate face-to-face contact through a magnetic field for stimulating the copy medium the signals from the low Tc material onto the copy medium.

Claim 49

System for making direct-image copies of magnetic signals from a master magnetic recording medium onto a copy magnetic recording medium, which system comprises: 1. an intermediate comprising a backing member of low permeability and a magnetizable face comprising a first magnetizable material having high Hc relative to the Hc of the copy medium and a low Curie temperature Tc and a second magnetizable material of relatively high Tc and low Hc relative to the Hc of the master medium, 2. means for moving the master medium and the intermediate in intimate face-to-face contact through a magnetic field for stimulating the hIgh Tc material of the intermediate to copy the signals onto the high Tc material, 3. means for heating the magnetizable material of the intermediate to a temperature at least approximating the low Tc but below the high Tc and for cooling to a temperature below said low Tc to copy the signals from the high Tc material onto the low Tc material of the intermediate, and 4. means for moving the intermediate and the copy medium in intimate face-to-face contact through a magnetic field for stimulating the copy medium the signals from the low Tc material onto the copy medium.

Claim 50

System as defined in claim 6 which further includes

Claim 51

System as defined in claim 7 wherein the intermediate is an endless belt, which system further includes

Claim 52

System as defined in claim 6 for use with a video tape master medium, which system further includes

Claim 53

System for making direct-image copies of magnetic signals from a master magnetic recording medium onto a copy magnetic recording medium, the Hc of each of which is 300-700 oersteds, which system comprises:

Claim 54

System for making direct-image copies of magnetic signals from a master magnetic recording medium onto a copy magnetic recording medium, the Hc of each of which is 300-700 oersteds, which system comprises:

Claim 55

A magnetic recording medium having a backing member of low permeability and a magnetizable face comprising: a first Magnetizable material having a Curie temperature Tc of 50*-350*C and an Hc at room temperature of at least 500 oersteds, and a second magnetizable material having a Tc at least 50*C higher than that of the first mentioned magnetizable material and an Hc at room temperature of 100-150 oersteds, which medium is useful as an intermediate transfer medium for copying magnetic signals from a master recording medium having an Hc higher than that of the second magnetizable material onto a copy magnetic recording medium having an Hc lower than that of the first magnetizable material.

Claim 56

A magnetic recording medium having a backing member of low permeability and a magnetizable face comprising: a first Magnetizable material having a Curie temperature Tc of 50*-350*C and an Hc at room temperature of at least 500 oersteds, and a second magnetizable material having a Tc at least 50*C higher than that of the first mentioned magnetizable material and an Hc at room temperature of 100-150 oersteds, which medium is useful as an intermediate transfer medium for copying magnetic signals from a master recording medium having an Hc higher than that of the second magnetizable material onto a copy magnetic recording medium having an Hc lower than that of the first magnetizable material.

Claim 57

An intermediate transfer medium as defined in claim 11 wherein the backing member is a long tape or endless belt and the first magnetizable material is in one or more layers and the second magnetizable material is in one or more alternate layers.

Claim 58

A magnetic recording medium in the form of an endless belt which is useful for copying magnetic signals from a master tape onto a copy tape by contact duplication, which belt comprises a metal backing member of low permeability and a magnetizable face comprising a binder-free inner layer of magnetizable material having a Curie temperature of 50*-200*C and an Hc at room temperature of at least 1,500 oersteds, which layer has a thickness of 0.4-5 micrometers, a binder-free outer layer of magnetizable material having a Curie temperature exceeding 400*C and an Hc at room temperature of 100-150 oersteds, which layer has a thickness of 0.01-0.2 micrometer.

Claim 59

A magnetic recording medium in the form of an endless belt which is useful for copying magnetic signals from a master tape onto a copy tape by contact duplication, which belt comprises a metal backing member of low permeability and a magnetizable face comprising a binder-free inner layer of magnetizable material having a Curie temperature of 50*-200*C and an Hc at room temperature of at least 1,500 oersteds, which layer has a thickness of 0.4-5 micrometers, a binder-free outer layer of magnetizable material having a Curie temperature exceeding 400*C and an Hc at room temperature of 100-150 oersteds, which layer has a thickness of 0.01-0.2 micrometer.

Claim 60

A magnetic recording medium as defined in claim 13 wherein said inner layer is a sputtered coating of approximately M2P where M is 80-90 mole percent iron, 10-20 mole percent cobalt and 0-5 mole percent nickel and said outer layer is a sputtered coating of iron, cobalt, nickel or alloys thereof.

Claim 61

A magnetic recording medium as defined in claim 14 wherein said inner layer has a thickness of 0.6 to 1.0 micrometer and said outer layer has a thickness of 0.025 to 0.6 micrometer.