Control system for using memory on cartridges to overcome tape drive problems
US6571304B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 6, 1999 |
| Grant date | May 27, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 6, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B23/042
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A magnetic tape cartridge includes a non-volatile semiconductor memory storing either a portion of the same data as that to be written to the tape or at least control data sufficient to recover from a delaying tape drive operation or from a mechanical failure in the tape drive thereby permitting signaling to a central processing unit an assurance that the data transferring by the CPU will be correctly written onto the tape. The host data can be directly transferred to the cartridge memory if the cartridge memory is fast enough and large enough to handle the transfer. An intermediate high speed non-volatile memory in the drive is necessary if the cartridge memory is too slow to handle the direct transfer or too small to handle the data transferred by the CPU. The cartridge memory then will contain command data sufficient to control the transfer of the data from the non-volatile drive memory to the tape. Thus the CPU can be assured that the host data sent to the tape drive will be preserved irrespective of any tape drive failure or delaying motion.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.