Patent · US Expired

Overscan helical scan head for non-tracking tape subsystems reading at up to 1X speed and methods for simulation of same

US6246551A · kind A · utility

2Cited by
98References
6Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 20, 1998
Grant dateJun 12, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 20, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11B15/1808
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A helical scan drum design for use in non-tracking tape devices which assures 70% coverage of a track to be read by overscanning with at least two read heads at approximate 1.times. speed. The present invention further provides a simulation method for evaluating potential drum designs for such overscan applications. The preferred drum design uses pairs of like-azimuth read heads positioned on the rotating drum such that in combination they overlap the scan of a track by 130% the track width. These dimensions assure at least 70% coverage of each track by at least one of the pair of heads at up to 1.times. speed while assuring no overlap with another like-azimuth recorded track. The simulation method allows for evaluation of potential drum designs by accepting parameters describing the intended drum application and then simulating track read operations over a plurality of simulated tracks to determine the efficacy of the design over a range of tape speeds and gap widths. Designs that simulate successful reading of a sufficient threshold number of tracks over a sufficiently broad range of tape speeds may then be selected for further test and evaluation.

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