SEPARATION CONTROL FOR RECORD MEDIA TRANSDUCER WITH TRANSVERSE SLOTS TO SUPPLY AMBIENT PRESSURE

摘要

Means for improving separation between a transducer operating surface and a moving record media. Nonuniform pressure distribution between the media and the operating surface produces a cocking tendency in the media increasing upstream separation and decreasing downstream separation over the processing zone in the transducer. This invention recognizes that the cocking tendency is caused by a region of lower than ambient pressure near the point where the media draws away from the operating surface, and provides means for supplying ambient pressure at that point. In a preferred embodiment, the means comprises a transverse slot extending beyond the side edges of the media.