Method and means for reducing undesirable effects of dirt particles on a flexible record device

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention provides methods and means for reducing the undesirable effects of bumps, dust or dirt particles between a rigid platen of an apparatus for recording or reading and a flexible record device.
The method and means are embodied in three basic alternatives: a modified flexible record device; a modified platen; and a cushioning device (also referred to as an insert) to be situated between a flexible record device and a rigid platen.
In the first alternative, a flexible record device having two sides, with at least one side thereof being capable of having information recorded thereon by a focused energy recording beam, further comprises, superposed on the opposite side, a cushioning layer.
The cushioning layer comprises an amorphous film-forming material and is completely enveloped either by a flexible encompassing layer or by a flexible encompassing layer and the flexible record device.
The flexible encompassing layer is immiscible with and inhibits diffusion therethrough of the amorphous film-forming material.
The cushioning layer absorbs the "tent-pole" effect of dirt particles or platen bumps without passing the effect on ultimately to the recording layer.
It therefore keeps the outer surface of the recording layer flat enough to remain continuously within the small depth of focus of a recording or reading beam during recording or reading.
During recording or reading the flexible record device rests on a rigid platen and is read or recorded upon by a focused energy beam.
In the second alternative, the same cushioning layer and flexible encompassing layer defined above are superposed on the rigid platen instead of being superposed on the flexible record device itself.
The cushioning layer in this case is completely enveloped, either by the flexible encompassing layer or by the flexible encompassing layer and the rigid platen, to form a modified platen that will absorb the tent-pole effect of dust and dirt particles rather than allow this effect to be passed on to the flexible record device, which rests on the modified platen during recording or reading