Magnetic recording head, rotary drum unit, and magnetic recording/reproducing method and apparatus using the same

A rotary drum unit for a helical scan type magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus provided with a recording head, a reproducing head, and means for transmitting recording and reproduced signals, wherein:

• said recording head is a multi-gap recording head having “n” gaps, and said gaps are pitched so as to record a pattern of tracks adjacent to one another;
• and
• a gap for recording the last track among “n” gaps of said multi-gap recording head has a wider gap than other gaps.

A rotary drum unit capable of recording “n” tracks per rotation, wherein:

• two multi-gap reproducing heads each having (n+m) gaps are mounted.

A rotary drum unit capable of recording “n” tracks per rotation, wherein:

• a multi-gap reproducing head having (2n+m) gaps is mounted.

A magnetic recording method for a helical scan type magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus, wherein said apparatus includes a multi-gap recording head having “n” gaps, and said gaps are pitched so as to record a pattern of tracks adjacent to one another;

• and a gap for recording the last one of said tracks among “n” gaps of multi-gap recording head has a wider recording gap, wherein:
• said method comprising the step of:
• recording said tracks by determining a tape running speed such that a minimum recorded track width can be ensured when said multi-gap recording head overwrites after one rotation of recording completed by said gap.

A helical scan type magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus comprising:

• a multi-gap recording head having “n” gaps, wherein said gaps are pitched so as to record a pattern of tracks adjacent to one another;
• and
• a gap for recording the last track among said multi-gap recording head has a wider recording gap than other gaps to obtain a recorded pattern of narrow tracks.

A magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus capable of recording a pattern of “n” tracks per rotation, wherein:

• two multi-gap reproducing heads each having (n+m) gaps are mounted.

A magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus capable of recording a pattern of “n” tracks per rotation, wherein:

• a multi-gap reproducing head having (2n+m) gaps is mounted.