Tape head positioning apparatus that includes a head carriage frame and a parallel beam positioning structure supported by the head carriage for supporting the magnetic tape head and for variably positioning the magnetic tape head relative to the carriage along a path generally transverse to the tape travel direction. The parallel beam positioning structure includes parallel support beams secured at their ends to the head carriage. The magnetic tape head is secured between the bender beam at a location generally between their ends. In a particular embodiment of the parallel beam positioning apparatus, the parallel support beams comprise first and second resilient reed beams having their ends secured to the head carriage and configured to be deflectable in a direction transverse to the tape travel direction. A voice coil linear motor deflects the reed beams pursuant to a control signal to move the magnetic tape head along the path transverse to the tape travel direction. In a further embodiment of the parallel beam positioning apparatus, the support beams comprise first and second parallel piezoelectric bender beams having their ends secured to the head carriage and configured to deflect in a direction transverse to the tape travel direction in response to a control signal. Deflection of the bender beams pursuant to the control signal displaces the magnetic tape head along the path transverse to the tape travel direction.

Mechanisms for a closed loop head positioner for streaming tape drives

OF THE DISCLOSURE A multi-channel recording and/or reproducing apparatus is disclosed, wherein a plurality of rotary magnetic heads scan a magnetic tape to form a plurality of skewed parallel tracks simultaneously. These heads are aligned substantially in the scanning direction on a single head base plate. Pre-ferably, these heads are so secured as to form parallel skewed tracks without guardbands therebetween. Each head has the same thickness, and is mounted on a head base. Even though the thickness of each head chip is the same, effective head gaps are formed to have different heights individually from the surface of the head base plate. When forming guardband-less plural tracks, an azimuth recording technique is intro-duced in order to avoid crosstalk between adjacent channels during reproduction.

Rotary head assembly

A servo system for positioning a data transducer head relative to a plurality of substantially concentric data tracks on the surface of a magnetic disc including a pair of servo transducer heads for sensing the data tracks and generating output signals representative of a data signal written on the sensed track, a distance between the pair of servo transducer heads being related to the dimension of the data track and a distance between the servo transducer heads and the data transducer head being related to a data track pitch, a signal processing circuit connected to the pair of servo transducer heads for generating a data transducer head positioning signal and a positioning device for positioning the data transducer head in response to the transducer positioning signal and for maintaining the track centerline alignment of the data transducer head.

Tracking servo system for disc memory

In a sensing system having relatively movable fixture and sample elements in which measured data is corrupted in proportion to the departure of the fixture from its ideal position, as from mechanical intolerances, etc., a reference disc and reference sensor are disclosed. The reference sensor and disc are provided for measuring the non-repeatable departure from ideal so that the measured data can be compensated thereby in real time for the error thereby improving the accuracy of the measured data. This system is operable in combination with a repeatable error elimination system insuring complete error removal.

Fixture and nonrepeatable error compensation system

A helical-scan recorder for two-channel digital video recording comprises two pairs of write-read heads which are situated diametrically opposite each other. To simplify tracking it is proposed to record tracking, signals of different frequencies with one head of each of said pairs of heads and to read said tracking signals during recording via crosstalk, each time using the other head of each of said pairs of heads.

System for transmitting signals via a record carrier in the form of a tape

A magnetic head supported for scanning along tracks of a magnetic medium is mounted on a piezoelectric bender element for movement laterally relative to the tracks as they are scanned As the head scans a track, the relative position between the track to be reproduced and the head is sensed to determine the tracking position of the heads A bias control signal is generated by a servo circuit and applied to energize the piezoelectric bender element to position the head relative to the track to maintain the head in the desired tracking position as it scans the magnetic medium

Hathaway Richard A

Papers

Automatic scan tracking using an additional sensing means on a bimorph

Einrichtung zum nachfuehren eines magnetkopfes bei magnetischen aufzeichnungstraeger