A tape drive system

The present invention is a tape drive system (1) comprising means to support and drive first and a second tape reels (4, 5), tape guides (7, 8), a transducing head (6) for reading or writing data, said system having a tape feed path from the first tape reel (4) to the second tape reel (5) around the tape guides (7, 8), the feed path including a wrap section wherein a portion of the tape is wrapped over an exposed part of the tape wound upon one of the tape reels (4), the wrapped portion of the tape forming a squeeze bearing realised in the presence of a thin film of air between the two surfaces of the tape constituting the bearing.Said squeeze bearing damps tape tension variation, inhibits the transmission of vibrations from one reel to the other, and eliminates the entrapment of entrained air without any additional rollers or other components. The tape path is suitable for use in a peripheral storage device, such as a magnetic tape drive, and is compatible with a variety of tape cartridge configurations.