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AssigneeMatsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
InventorsKousei Sano, Shin-Ichi Kadowaki
Estimating the term…
A magnetic tape has a guide track for optically obtaining a tracking signal and an independent information track for storing information. The magnetic tape is partitioned into different kinds of zones. The guide tracks are provided with grooves or pits serving as tracking marks, and the tracking marks are selectively located in the zones depending on the kind of zone. Thus, the track spacing of the guide tracks in each zone can be increased, so that a tracking control can be performed for a high density recording medium without reducing the spot size of the light.
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An information storing medium having guide tracks and independent information tracks for storing information, wherein the information storing medium is partitioned into different kinds of zones, the guide tracks are provided with tracking marks, and the tracking marks are selectively located in the zones depending on the kind of zone.
An information storing medium, partitioned in N kinds of zones, wherein tracking marks in a first kind of zone are located in a first guide track and in guide tracks provided every N tracks starting with the first guide track, tracking marks in a second kind of zone are located in a second guide track adjacent to the first guide track and in guide tracks provided every N tracks starting with the second guide track, and in this order, tracking marks in an N-th kind of zone are located in an N-th guide track and in guide tracks provided every N tracks starting with the N-th guide track.
An information recording/reproducing apparatus, comprising:
A tracking method for performing tracking control based on a signal obtained from a certain kind of zone that is selectively derived from signals obtained by irradiating light onto an information storing medium having a guide track and an independent information track for storing information, the information storing medium being partitioned into different kinds of zones, and tracking marks on the guide tracks being selectively located in the zones depending on the kind of zone.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Backward citations are indexed for grants only.
Guiding record carrier: for track selection, acquisition or following
With provision for moving the head for the purpose of maintaining alignment of the head relative to the record carrier during transducing…: for…
Record carriers characterised by the form, e.g. sheet shaped to wrap around a drum: disk carriers
With provision for moving the light beam or focus plane for the purpose of maintaining alignment of the light beam relative to the record…
Term end not estimated
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information storing medium, such as a magnetic disk or a magnetic tape, an optical disk, an optical card, or an optomagnetic disk, having information tracks for recording or reproducing information, and separate guide tracks for generating a tracking signal for performing tracking control. The present invention also relates to an information recording/reproducing apparatus for recording/reproducing information with respect to such an information storing medium, and to a tracking method using such an information storing medium.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 is a diagram partially showing the configuration of a magnetic tape as an information storing medium in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2(a) and FIG. 2(b) are a block diagram of a circuit for obtaining the tracking signal from an information storing medium of the first embodiment of the present invention, and a diagram of the signal waveforms at various components.
FIG. 3 is a perspective diagram showing the configuration of a magnetic tape drive as an information recording/reproducing device in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention.
The following is a description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 13. In all the drawings, elements with the same symbols have the same function.
First Embodiment
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a magnetic tape serving as an information storing medium in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention. Several series of information (eight in FIG. 1) are recorded on this magnetic tape 101 serving as the information storing medium. These series of information are called information tracks 102. The spacing between an information track and its neighboring information track is called information track spacing, and is denoted as Tp. Guide tracks 103 for optical tracking control also are arranged on the magnetic tape 101. Grooves 104 are arranged in the guide tracks 103 as tracking marks. The grooves 104 are convex or concave portions having a suitable depth and width. Generally, a favorable tracking signal is generated when their depth is about one eighth to one quarter of the wavelength λ of the irradiated light. The magnetic tape 101 is partitioned into a number of different zones, due to the arrangement of the grooves 104 in the guide tracks 103. In the example shown in FIG. 1 there are three kinds of zones 1 to 3. In zone 1, guide grooves 104 are arranged at the outermost guide track 1031, the guide track 1034 three tracks away from there and the guide track 1037 again three tracks away. In zone 2, grooves 104 are arranged in the guide tracks 1032, 1035, and 1038. In zone 3, grooves 104 are arranged in the guide tracks 1033, 1036, and 1039. The distance from a guide track in which a groove 104 is arranged to the next guide track in which a groove 104 is arranged in a certain zone is called Gp. In this example, Gp=3×Tp. With this arrangement, the actual track spacing Gp of the guide tracks for each zone can be increased.