Patent ID: 7168648

Claim:
A tape cartridge leader for terminating a magnetic tape media contained on a supply reel, having a hub and a pair of flanges, in a single reel tape cartridge that is loaded into a tape drive having a take-up reel comprising a hub and a pair of flanges, said tape cartridge leader being detachably connectable to a take-up leader located in a single reel tape drive and connected to said take-up reel so that said magnetic tape media can be wound through a curvilinear tape path internal to the tape drive, said tape cartridge leader comprising: an elongated main body integrally formed between a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is connected to said supply reel in said tape cartridge; buckling hole means, located within said second end, for detachably connecting to said take-up leader in the tape drive when the tape cartridge is loaded into the tape drive; and blind cut out means, located proximate to said second end, comprising a shallow depression formed in said tape cartridge leader in a surface of said tape cartridge leader that faces said hub of said take-up reel when said tape cartridge leader is wound on said hub, for overlaying said buckling hole means when said tape cartridge leader is wound on said take-up reel.