Head-tape alignment system and method
AssigneeMinnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
InventorsHung T. Tran, James S. Anderson, Christopher L. Hill, Durkee B. Richards, Robert J. Youngquist
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Abstract
A head-track orienting system for use in magnetic recording tape drives is disclosed which automatically corrects for misalignment between the head assembly and a recorded servo track on the tape. Using a servo control loop, the system calculates head-track alignment error during operation of the tape drive and either pivots the head assembly or adjusts the tape cartridge to compensate for the error. Transverse head-track positioning mechanisms are also included in the system to locate and maintain a centered position of the heads on the servo track.
Claims24
A magnetic recording head-track orienting assembly comprising:
- a multichannel head assembly having at least two read heads positioned along a common line for a given channel so that both heads are able to read from a single servo track recorded on a magnetic tape transported along a transport path, the servo track being substantially parallel to said transport path, and both heads being capable of generating signals simultaneously which are characteristic of the transverse position of each head relative to said servo track, and
- means responsive to said signals for orienting said head assembly with respect to said servo track so as to cause said common line and said servo track to be substantially parallel.
A head-track orienting system for a magnetic recording tape drive using a tape having a servo track recorded thereon, said system comprising:
- a multichannel head assembly having at least two read heads positioned along a common line for a given channel so that both heads are able to read from a single servo track recorded on a magnetic tape transported along a transport path, the servo track being substantially parallel to said transport path, and both heads being capable of generating signals simultaneously which are characteristic of the transverse position of each head relative to said servo track,
- means for transporting said tape past said head assembly along said transport path,
- at least a pair of amplifiers for amplifying the signals generated by the read heads,
- means for computing position error signals based on the signals generated by the read heads,
- means for computing a head-track alignment error signal based on said position error signals, and
- means responsive to said head-track alignment error signal for orienting said head assembly with respect to the servo track so as to minimize a difference between said position error signals, thereby causing the common line and the servo track to be substantially parallel.
A head-track alignment method for a magnetic recording tape drive wherein said tape drive comprises at least one multichannel head assembly with at least two read heads per channel, drive electronics responsive to a head-track alignment error signal, and a displacement transducer for controllably pivoting said head assembly, said head-track alignment method comprising the steps of:
- a) moving a magnetic tape along a transport path within said tape drive,
- b) reading a recorded servo track on said tape with said two read heads operating simultaneously to generate signals characteristic of the transverse position of each head relative to said servo track, said servo track being substantially parallel to said transport path,
- c) deriving position error signals from said signals generated by each read head,
- d) deriving a head-track alignment error signal by computing the difference between said position error signals, and
- e) operating said displacement transducer in response to said head-track alignment error signal to pivot said head assembly so as to minimize said head-track alignment error signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.