Sony Corporation

Hewlett-packard Corporation

Hewlett-packard Company

Shinya Ozaki

Kentaro Odaka

Masaki Yamada

Tadashi Fukami

Yoshizumi Inazawa

Hiroshi Ishibashi

Tatsuya Iijima

Brian A Milthorp

Toshiyuki Hirose

Bruce A Thompson

Hideki Nonoyama

Nigel Kevin Rushton

Peter Joseph Bramhall

Mark Robert Watkins

Tadashi Fukumi

Data are stored on magnetic tape along successive tracks extending obliquely across the tape, in each of several areas including a lead-in area, a data area and an end-of-data (EOD) area. Each track comprises successive blocks or fragments of data, and each fragment has a compact header containing a synchronization byte, six information bytes and two parity bytes. The information bytes include a fragment ID, an area ID sub code identifying the area in which the fragment is located, and various other sub codes relating to logical structure of the data. The inclusion of an area ID sub code and logical structure sub codes in the (compact) header of every fragment facilitates reliable searching of the data stored on the tape at high tape advance speeds.

Methods and apparatus for storing data and auxiliary information

A data recording and reproducing apparatus for recording and reproducing data on azimuth tracks of a magnetic tape in which the data may be audio data or computer data in any of several different computer data formats includes a controller that controls the recording and reproducing signal processing so as to be responsive to the four different kinds of data formats such that main data and subdata may be separated from the audio data and subcodes and error correction codes generated and appended to the data stream as required.

Digital audio tape recording/reproducing apparatus for use with multiple formats

A recording apparatus provided on, for example, a digital audio tape recorder or on a data storage device for correctly and reliably recording data. An ECC unit 23 appends the parity for error correction to recording data and transmits the resulting data to recording heads Hw1, Hw2, while recording the parity in a RAM 61. The recording data and the parity are reproduced from a magnetic tape 32 by magnetic heads Hr1, Hr2 and supplied to a subcode separation unit 45. A syndrome detection unit 62 detects the number of error corrections performed by parity by an error correction unit 46. A system controller 63 compares the number of times of error corrections to a threshold value and compares the parity read out from the RAM 61 to the parity from the sub-code separation unit 45 in order to detect if the recording data has been recorded correctly. If the recording data has not been recorded correctly, the system controller controls a recording/reproducing unit 30 for re-recording the same recording data.

Data recording/reproducing apparatus employing read-after-write system

A data recording method is provided in which the time required for recording/reproduction of system logs for each partition is shortened for a tape format having plural partitions. In recording data on an azimuth track on a magnetic tape having a tape format having plural partitions, using a rotary head, the system logs of each partition are recorded in a system region of a leading side partition P1.

Data recording method

Method for recording data onto tape-shaped recording media for

A data reproducing apparatus in which the identification information recorded in multiplicity on a recording track can be reliably reproduced assuring stable data reproduction including a decoder 61 to decode the area IDs supplied from an 8/10 demodulation circuit 43 and to supply each decoded area ID to counters C0 to C15, a system controller 70 to find the number of times of occurrences of coincidences of the area IDs of areas other than the end of data (EOD) area and, based on the frequency of detection of the occurrences of the area IDs by the counters C0 to C15, detects the area IDs of the (EOD) area. Finally, the system controller 70 controls the running of a magnetic tape 31 based on the detected area IDs.

Device for reproducing a recording medium having plural recording areas

A data recording method and apparatus with reduced probability of error occurrence in main data. For recording data on azimuth tracks on a magnetic tape by a rotary magnetic head, each azimuth track is divided into a main data area and margin areas on both sides of the main data area. The main data recorded in the main data area of each track is arrayed two-dimensionally. An error correction code C2 is appended to a data string arrayed in the track direction, while an error correction code C1 is appended to a data string arrayed along the track width. The error correction code C2 is divided into two portions which are arrayed on both sides of the main data area of each track. This reduces the probability of error occurrence in the main data.

Data recording/reproducing apparatus having a first error correcting

A data recorder includes a recording unit for recording data having a predetermined data format and a frame address in a recording medium in units of frames each consisting of predetermined amount of data, and for forming a plurality of Partitions each consisting of a plurality of data areas in which different types of data are recorded during recording. The data recorder performs initialization of a length of at least one of the Partitions.

Data recorder which partitions the recording medium into data

In this invention, a predetermined amount of data is given as one frame, and data having a predetermined format is recorded for each frame. A first area recording main data and a second area recording sub data are formed in each frame. Plural types of units each consisting of a plurality of frames are set, and a number of first units from a leading end of a recording medium and the numbers of other units from the leading end of the recording medium to a trailing end of the first units are recorded in the second area of a frame constituting the unit including the trailing end, thus facilitating a high-speed search operation.

Data recorder and method of operation

A digital audio tape recorder is used as a digital data storage recorder and digital signals containing main data and sub-data are recorded in separate areas in each track of a plurality of tracks formed on a recording medium, wherein a predetermined number of tracks constitute a group and a plurality of groups are recorded on the medium. In the sub-area an identification signal is further recorded which indicates whether or not main data recorded in the main areas of a given group is same as the main data recorded in the main areas of preceding and subsequent adjacent groups. When identical data is multiply written for a plurality of units, a division of the multiply written portions is detected, and signal processing is facilitated.

Method and apparatus for reproducing multiply recorded data

An apparatus and method for recording and/or reproducing digital data employing a DAT (digital audio tape recorder) adapted to record and/or reproduce data from a computer or the like in accordance with the DAT format. Main data is recorded in a main area of a track while error detecting data for the main data recorded in the main area of the track is recorded in a sub-area of the track to thereby easily detect an error in the main data.

Apparatus and method for recording and/or reproducing a digital signal

An apparatus and method for recording and/or reproducing digital data employing a DAT (digitial audio tape recorder) adapted to record and/or reproduce data from a computer or the like in accordance with the DAT format. Main data is recorded in a main area of a track while error detecting data for the main data recorded in the main area of the track is recorded in a sub-area of the track to thereby easily detect an error in the main data.

Before reading/writing a newly loaded data tape, it is known to carry out read/write tests on the tape drive concerned by using a section of the tape set aside for this purpose. This test section is generally marked off by formatting keys which must be accessed and read to identify the test section. In order to facilitate access to the test section, the disclosed data storage method locates the test section in the region of tape between a beginning-of-media BOM position and a beginning-of-recording BOR position with the latter being at a known distance from BOM. As a result, it is possible to rely simply on displacement measurement to access the test section from BOM. As a precaution, a check can be made for possible overshoot error in the tape positioning means so as to avoid testing being carried out beyond BOR.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Shinya Ozaki