Multitrack magnetic reading head

A multitrack magnetic reading head for simultaneously reading on a magnetic tape of a group of parallel tracks recorded longitudinally on said tape, wherein it comprises:

• a substrate for the large scale integration of the elements of the head and having a rectilinear edge for bearing on the tape to be read;
• a magneto-sensitive strip deposited along said rectilinear edge for supplying a group of electrical signals under the action of said tracks;
• a first circuit for processing at least that electrical signal which corresponds to a first of the said tracks adjacent to one of the edges of the tape and for supplying a first pure sinusoidal signal;
• a second circuit for processing at least that electrical signal corresponding to the last of the said tracks adjacent to the other edge of the tape and for supplying a second pure sinusoidal signal, which is phase-displaced relative to the first sinusoidal signal, the phase variation between said two sinusoidal signals measuring the skew of the head relative to the tape;
• a system of amplifiers for respectively amplifying those electrical signals which are not processed in the first and second circuits to a level permitting the charging of a charge-coupled device;
• at least one charge-coupled device of the parallel-series type provided with a system of input gates for receiving in parallel via the said gates at least one group of electrical signals amplified by said amplifiers and restoring them to series form at the rate of a first timing signal;
• a first resistive line energized at one end by the first circuit;
• a second resistive line located parallel to the first resistive line and energised by the second circuit at its end opposite to the end of the first line energized by the first circuit;
• and
• a system of comparators connected to the resistive lines in a staggered manner for determining the sign change of the potential difference applied between the resistive lines by the first and second circuits and for successively opening the said input gates of the said charge-coupled device.