The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 09, 2001
Filed:
Jan. 20, 2000
Hideki Nonoyama, Kanagawa, JP;
Sony Corporation, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A tracking control apparatus for a tape-shaped recording medium is operative, prior to carrying out actual reproduction, to measure times from the time point serving as the reference phase position within one period of the rotary drum to the time points when timing signals of respective recording areas of the tape-shaped recording medium are detected by the head, and to calculate average values every respective recording areas of the measured times to generate a reference value on the basis of the maximum value and the minimum value of the calculated average values of the respective recording areas. Further, in actual reproduction, times from the time point serving as reference phase position to the time points when the timing signals of the tape-shaped recording medium are detected by the head are measured to control relative velocity between traveling velocity of the tape-shaped recording medium and rotational velocity of the rotary drum on the basis of result of comparison between the measured times and the reference value. Thus, even in the case where particularly the relationship between the scanning locus of the reproduction head and the track shape is not ideal, satisfactory tracking can be carried out over the entire area of the track. As a result, reliability of, e.g., digital data storage using such tracking control apparatus for tape-shaped recording medium can be improved.