Apparatus and method for use in transferring information relative to a storage medium

A method for use in transferring information from a storage medium, the method comprising:

• receiving information transfer signals from at least two information transfer elements that are responsive to information on different parts of the medium, the at least two information transfer elements being part of a data transfer head;
• determining an appropriate compensation value to apply to said information transfer signal for one of said information transfer elements, the compensation value at least partially compensating for distortion in the signal dependent upon a property of said medium;
• accessing stored compensation information relating to compensation characteristics of each of the transfer elements over a range of storage medium properties;
• referencing said accessed stored compensation information using said compensation value determined for said one element to (i) determine said property of said medium and (ii) subsequently use the determined property of said medium to establish a respective appropriate compensation value for each of the other elements;
• and
• applying the appropriate compensation values to the information transfer signals from the information transfer elements to at least partially compensate for distortion of the respective signals.

A tangible computer-readable medium storing a computer program comprising a set of instructions which when running on a processor cause said processor to:

• receive an information transfer signal from each of a plurality of information transfer elements that are part of a data transfer head;
• determine an appropriate compensation value to apply to said transfer signal for one of said transfer elements which at least partially compensates for distortion in said signal caused by a property of said medium;
• access stored compensation information which relates to compensation characteristics of each of said transfer elements over a range of storage medium properties;
• reference said accessed stored compensation information with said compensation value determined for said one transfer element to (i) determine said property of said medium and (ii) subsequently use the determined property of said medium to establish a respective appropriate compensation value for each of the other of said transfer elements which at least partially compensates for a distortion in their respective signals.

A magnetic tape drive comprising:

• a data transfer head comprising
• at least two magneto-resistive information transfer elements, each producing a transfer signal in the presence of a magnetic flux from a magnetic storage medium having an associated coercivity;
• a signal processing apparatus for:
• (a) determining an appropriate compensation value to apply to said transfer signal for one of said transfer elements, the compensation value at least partially compensating for distortion in said signal dependent upon the coercivity of said storage medium, (b) storing compensation information which relates to said distortion characteristics of each of said transfer elements over a range of storage medium coercivities;
• (c) accessing the stored compensation information;
• (d) referencing said accessed stored compensation information with said compensation value determined for said one element to (1) determine said coercivity of said medium and (2) subsequently use the determined coercivity of said medium to establish a respective appropriate compensation value for each of the other of said elements, and (e) applying said appropriate compensation values to the signals outputted by said transfer elements so as to at least partially compensate for distortion in said signals caused by the coercivity of said storage medium.

Apparatus for use in transferring information from a storage medium having an associated output condition comprising:

• a data transfer head having at least a two information transfer elements, each producing, by accessing the medium, a respective information transfer signal having a distortion characteristic dependent upon the output condition of said storage medium;
• processing means for
• receiving the transfer signals produced from the at least two transfer elements,
• determining an appropriate compensation value to apply to said information transfer signal for one of the information transfer elements which at least partially compensates for distortion in said signal,
• accessing stored compensation information which relates to compensation characteristics of each of the information transfer elements over a range of storage medium properties,
• referencing said accessed compensation information with said compensation value determined for said one transfer element to establish a respective appropriate compensation value for each other of said transfer elements, and
• applying said appropriate compensation values to the transfer signals outputted by said transfer elements so as to at least partially compensate for effects on said transfer signals caused by the respective distortion characteristics.

A method of reducing the effects of distortion on signals from a plurality of information transfer elements of a data transfer apparatus comprising:

• receiving signals outputted by the plurality of information transfer elements that are part of a data transfer head;
• determining a compensation value required to at least partially compensate for a distortion characteristic of the signal outputted from one of said information transfer elements;
• determining a respective appropriate compensation value to apply to said other information transfer elements by referencing stored compensation information relating to distortion characteristics of said other information transfer elements by using said determined compensation value for the one information transfer element;
• and
• applying said compensation values to the signals outputted from said plurality of information transfer elements so as to at least partially compensate for effects on said signals caused by the respective distortion characteristics.

Apparatus for use in transferring information from a storage medium comprising:

• a data transfer head having at least two information transfer elements, each for producing, by accessing the medium, a respective information transfer signal having a distortion characteristic;
• a memory storing compensation information which together with a value for a distortion characteristic exhibited by one of the information transfer elements enables an estimate of the distortion characteristic of said other head elements to be made;
• and
• a processor for:
• receiving the information transfer signals outputted by the information transfer elements;
• determining the value for the distortion characteristic exhibited by one of the information transfer elements,
• accessing the stored compensation information,
• referencing said accessed information using said determined value for the distortion characteristic exhibited by one of the information transfer elements to establish an estimate of the distortion characteristics of said other head elements, and
• based on the determined and estimated distortion characteristics of said head elements, applying appropriate compensation values to the transfer signals outputted by said transfer elements so as to at least partially compensate for effects on said signals caused by the respective distortion characteristics.