Patent · US Expired

Sync pattern encoding system for data sectors written on a storage medium

US4697167A · kind A · utility

59Cited by
1References
7Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateNov 21, 1985
Grant dateSep 29, 1987
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 21, 2005

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11B27/36
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A system and method for generating a unique sync pattern that may be appended to a selected data sector of a disk storage system. The data to be stored in the disk storage system is encoded in accordance with a desired fixed rate run-length limited code, such as a 2,7 code. The unique sync pattern is generated by first encoding a prescribed data word in accordance with the desired code. At least one bit of the encoded prescribed data word is then changed in a manner such that the changed encoded word still complies with the coding rules of the desired code, yet the resulting bit pattern does not represent any valid sequence of data in accordance with the desired code. Hence, the changed encoded word may be readily distinguished from data, thereby providing the synchronization function, while still being handled and processed by the same encoding/decoding circuitry as is employed to handle and process the data.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.