Tape drive with head assembly having dual offset devices

A recording head assembly for use in a tape drive, comprising:

• a first head with first and second bumps;
• a second head positioned adjacent the first head and having first and second bumps, wherein the first and second heads are independently actuatable;
• and
• a set of write elements positionable with the first and second heads during writing data to a single band of tracks on a tape, wherein the set of write elements comprises a first subset including a number of the write elements positioned on the first bump of the first head and further comprises a second subset including remaining ones of the write elements positioned on the first bump of the second head.

A head assembly for a tape drive, comprising:

• a first head with first and second bumps;
• a second head positioned adjacent the first head and having first and second bumps;
• a set of write elements for writing data to a band of tracks on a tape, wherein the set of write elements comprises a first subset including a number of the write elements positioned on the first bump of the first head and further comprises a second subset including remaining ones of the write elements positioned on the first bump of the second head;
• servo readers on the bumps spaced apart for reading servo tracks defining the band on the tape, wherein the first subset of the write elements are disposed between a first pair of the servo readers on the first bump of the first head to extend linearly a first distance across a gap between the first pair of the servo readers and the second subset of the write elements are disposed between a second pair of the servo readers on the first bump of the second head to extend linearly a second distance across a gap between the second pair of the servo readers, wherein the band has a width equal to a combination of the first and second distances, and wherein the first subset of the write elements are longitudinally offset from the second subset of the write elements;
• and
• a set of read elements aligned with the write elements for reading the tracks in the band on the tape, wherein the set of read elements comprises a first subset including a number of the read elements positioned on the second bump of the first head and further comprises a second subset including remaining ones of the read elements positioned on the second bump of the second head.

A tape drive for recording data on a magnetic storage tape, comprising:

• a recording head assembly;
• and
• a drive assembly guiding the magnetic storage tape past the recording head assembly along a tape path,
• wherein the recording head assembly includes:
• a first head and a second head spaced apart from the first head,
• a first subset of write elements arranged linearly on a bump of the first head to extend parallel to a longitudinal axis of the bump of the first head and operable to write data on a first portion of a band on the magnetic storage tape,
• a second subset of write elements arranged linearly on a bump of the second head to extend parallel to a longitudinal axis of the bump of the second head and concurrently operable to write data on a second portion of the band differing from the first portion of the band, wherein the first and second subsets of the write elements are offset from each other relative to the longitudinal axes of the bumps of the first and second heads.