Digital Equipment Corporation

Norman A Field

Lih-Jyh Weng

Charles M Riggle

Peter T McLean

Chao S Chi

Bernardo Rub

The present invention includes a first input signal circuit to receive pulse signals from a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), or some other controllable pulse signal source, and a second input signal circuit to receive pulse signals from a magnetic recording medium, or some pulse signal source, with which the voltage controlled oscillator is to be put in phase synchronization. A correction signal generator circuit is connected to both the input signal circuits to provide a first correction signal in response to a pulse signal from the recording medium and to provide a second correction signal in response to a pulse signal from the VCO. There is a third circuit which monitors how long a correction signal is in effect and if such a correction signal is present for longer than a predetermined time, the third circuit terminates the correction signal to enable a new correction signal to be generated in response to the next one of said input signals to arrive. Finally, there is a fourth circuit which is connected to the correction circuitry to permit it, in a first mode of operation, to be enabled at all times to phase correct the controllable pulse signal source in response to a predetermined pattern of signals from the recording medium and to permit it, in a second mode of operation, to be available only during 'window' periods initiated by pulse signals from the recording medium.

Phase detector circuit

An error detecting and correcting system implementing the Reed-Solomon (1023, 1006) code having code words whose symbols are elements in the Galois field GF(2.sup.10) generated by either the primitive polynomial x.sup.10 +x.sup.3 +1 or x.sup.10 +x.sup.7 +1. An original data word is encoded to produce a code word w(x) including a first set of checksum symbols appended thereto. Upon retrieval, the data symbols of the receive code word y(x) are encoded by the same encoder that encodes the original data word to produce a second set of checksum symbols. Both sets of checksum symbols are modulo-two summed to produce a residue R(x) from which error syndromes S.sub.i can be computed and thus enable rapid correction of errors in the received code word y(x). The system also monitors the number of non-zero symbols in the residue R(x) in order to avoid unnecessary computation of error syndromes S.sub.i and other decoding routines, such as when the received code word y(x) is otherwise uncorrectable or when the error exists only in the received checksum symbols, rather than in the data symbols. The distance between code words being (2T+ 2), the error correction routine is bypassed when the number of non-zero symbols in R(x) is less than or equal to T, which indicates that errors only reside in the checksum symbols. When the number of non-zero symbols equals (T+1), the error is uncorrectable. For determining whether a single error exists so that correction can quickly be made, the system also tests whether S.sub.i+1 /S.sub.i is constant for all error syndromes S.sub.i.

Multiple error detecting and correcting system employing Reed-Solomon

In a feedback control system wherein data pulses also establish timing coordination between the data and the processing devices, two delay circuits are provided to extract the synchronized clock pulses from the coded incoming signal. This enables relative digital decoding and ensures a precise data transfer to a computer interface. One of the delay circuits enables a data reconditioner circuit to buffer the data and eliminates data peak shifting. The reconditioned data is provided to a coincident circuit which selectively transfers the data to a computer interface and to a phase difference detector. The other delay circuit provides to the phase difference detector a second input corresponding in time to the coded incoming data pulses. The detector's output generates a DC error voltage which synchronizes a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO). The outputs of the VCO are clock pulses in phase with the coded incoming signals. The feedback control system is capable of operating over a range of frequencies without effecting the margin for peak shifting.

Growing community of inventors

Maynard, MA, United States of America

Norman A Field