Magnetic data card servo writer

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6728059
  • Patent Number
    6,728,059
  • Date Filed
    Monday, July 8, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, April 27, 2004
    20 years ago
Abstract
This invention discloses a magnetic servo writer. The magnetic servo writer includes a magnetic pickup head for rotationally moving over and writing servo data in a magnetic flat data-storage medium. The magnetic servo writer further includes a clock head for providing clock signals to the pickup head and to write clock signals in the clock disk. The magnetic servo writer further includes a control circuit for controlling the magnetic pickup head for writing the servo data on the magnetic flat data-storage medium. The magnetic servo writer further includes a servo pattern layout circuit for controlling the magnetic pickup head for writing the servo data on the magnetic flat data-storage medium with predefined servo patterns. The magnetic servo writer further includes a derived index control circuit for deriving indices from a fixed index provided on the magnetic flat data-storage medium. The magnetic servo writer further includes a fixed index and clock track circuit for providing a fix index and a clock signal for controlling the magnetic pickup head for writing the servo data on the magnetic flat data-storage medium. The magnetic servo writer further includes a head move circuit for controlling a movement of the magnetic pickup head for writing the servo data on the magnetic flat data-storage medium. The magnetic servo writer further includes a medium movement circuit for controlling a linear movement of the magnetic flat data-storage medium for writing the servo data on the magnetic flat data-storage medium.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




This invention relates generally to systems and method for reading data from and writing data to data storage medium by employing the magnetic recording technology. More particularly, this invention is related to an improved magnetic data access system. The data access system is implemented in a portable data card drive device and in a high speed subsystem for reading data from and writing data to a magnetic data card which has a novel data track configuration for storing data with uniform density. Data can be stored for user applications or related to application system configurations.




2. Description of the Prior Art




Conventional technology of reading-writing data on concentric circular data tracks often presents a problem that the data-bit density varies between the outer tracks and the inner tracks. The variable bit density in data storage is due to a geometrical factor that the outer data tracks are much longer in length than the inner tracks. A common practice is to form the inner tracks with a capacity to store the data bit at a higher bit density. A more complicate servo control system implemented with more complex signal-processing algorithms is required due to the variations of data storage density between different data tracks. Additionally, by varying the data storage density from the inner tracks toward the outside tracks, the data transfer rate is also changed in accessing data from the inner tracks then outside tracks. Such variation may also cause difficulties and complications in processing the data. Higher error rates may incur due to these variations between the inner tracks and the outer tracks.




Therefore, a need still exists for an improved data-card drive system to overcome the aforementioned difficulties encountered in the prior art. Specifically, this storage card drive system must provide a uniform density for data storage and a data-card drive system to access the data-storage card. Furthermore, it would be desirable that this system is portable and is also provided with several standardized sizes for processing standardized data-storage cards.




SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION




Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a data storage-card drive system with a pickup head moving above the data-storage card in rotational movement. The data read-write functions are enabled only for arc-segments of the rotational movement such that the data tracks are arranged as plurality of parallel arcs, e.g., half-circles, to overcome the aforementioned difficulties and limitations encountered in the prior art.




Specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a data-storage card drive system with a pickup head driven by a motor, e.g., a brushless motor, to rotate over the data-storage card with the rotation axis perpendicular to the card surface. The motor is mounted on a carriage for making horizontal movement along a longitudinal direction of the data card. The position of the pickup head is then servo-controlled by moving the carriage and the motor while the data storage card either stays at a fixed position or only pickup head is rotating and the card is making horizontal linear movements.




Another object of the present invention is to provide a data-storage card drive system for performing the data access tasks over a data storage medium surface, which has uniform data storage density. A new configuration of data-tracks formed as parallel arc or arc-segments, e.g., semi-circular data track, is implemented such that all data tracks have substantially the same length for data storage and the data bits are stored with uniform density.




Another object of the present invention is to provide a data-storage card drive device implemented with a subsystem provided with local memory storage for conveniently interface with personal computers or peripheral devices to achieve higher speed operations.




Briefly, in a preferred embodiment, the present invention discloses a magnetic servo writer. The magnetic servo writer includes a magnetic pickup head for rotationally moving over and writing servo data in a magnetic flat data-storage medium. The magnetic servo writer further includes a clock head for providing clock signals to the pickup head and to write clock signals in the clock disk. The magnetic servo writer further includes a control circuit for controlling the magnetic pickup head for writing the servo data on the magnetic flat data-storage medium. The magnetic servo writer further includes a servo pattern layout circuit for controlling the magnetic pickup head for writing the servo data on the magnetic flat data-storage medium with predefined servo patterns. The magnetic servo writer further includes a derived index control circuit for deriving indices from a fixed index provided on the magnetic flat data-storage medium. The magnetic servo writer further includes a fixed index and clock track circuit for providing a fix index and a clock signal for controlling the magnetic pickup head for writing the servo data on the magnetic flat data-storage medium. The magnetic servo writer further includes a head move circuit for controlling a movement of the magnetic pickup head for writing the servo data on the magnetic flat data-storage medium. The magnetic servo writer further includes a medium movement circuit for controlling a linear movement of the magnetic flat data-storage medium for writing the servo data on the magnetic flat data-storage medium.




These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after having read the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment which is illustrated in the various drawing figures.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIGS. 1A and 1B

shows a cross sectional view and a top view respectively of a data card drive system of this invention;





FIGS. 1C and 1D

are cross sectional views for showing the details of the motor rack mounting and the head loading/unloading assembly;





FIG. 1E

shows a perspective view of the pickup head and the wires winding configuration serving as read/write data signal transformer;





FIGS. 1F and 1G

show the top view and cross sectional view respectively of a magnetic servo writer of this invention;





FIGS. 2A

to


2


C are respectively a top view, a cross sectional view and a bottom view of a data storage card with data tracks formed for storing bits with uniform density in each of these data tracks;





FIGS. 2D

to


2


Q show the top views of the data storage card of this invention where the data tracks can be arranged in arc-segments of different shapes, sizes, and facing different directions;





FIGS. 3A and 3B

are a perspective view and a cross sectional view respectively of a data card storage box;





FIG. 4

is a functional block diagram of a subsystem of this invention includes a data card drive device of

FIGS. 1A

to


1


C for reading/writing data storage card of

FIGS. 2A

to


2


C;





FIGS. 5A and 5B

show the data tracks on a magnetic data card with data tracks for writing servo data thereon;





FIG. 5C

shows an exemplary pattern of servo data written onto a data track;





FIG. 5D

shows the position indexes for servo control; and





FIG. 5E

is a functional block diagram to illustrate the control logic implementation of a servo writer of this invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT





FIGS. 1A and 1B

show a cross sectional view and a top view respectively of a data-card drive


100


of the present invention. The data-card drive


100


can be configured for reading and writing data-cards of different sizes, e.g., a PCMCIA type card or common credit card size. The data-card can also be of different shapes such as a square, a rectangular, a circular disk, or a card with straight and parabolic edges or different types of arc-edges. The data-card drive


100


includes a motor


110


, e.g., a DC brushless motor. The motor


110


is provided to operate at a low speed to conserve battery power, at high speeds to achieve fast data access time. The motor


110


is further provided to function at two different modes, i.e., a sleep mode when not being deployed, and a wake up mode for normal data access operations. The motor


110


is mounted on a carriage


115


with a pickup head assembly mounted to the motor rotating shaft assembly. Half of a magnetic transformer,


120


-


1


which can either being a ring type, a round-disk type, or other geometrical shapes, is mounted onto the motor rotating shaft assembly, the other half of the magnetic transformer


120


-


2


of similar configuration is mounted to the fixed part of motor assembly. Signal wires


130


form head are soldered onto the rotating half of the transformer


120


-


1


with the soldering pad


125


, that can also be a spring pressed connection, for transmitting the read/write signals via the magnetic transformer


120


. The magnetic transformer


120


-


1


and the soldering pad


125


are covered by a magnetic flux shield plate


135


for shielding the magnetic flux generated by the magnetic transformer to prevent DC erase of data. A ground spring


140


is applied to perform the function of dissipating electric static discharges. Optionally, a brake-magnet


145


is provided to fix the “parking” position of the motor


110


in the sleep or power off mode during the time when there is no data access activities.




A read/write head


150


is mounted via an extended head-arm


152


to the brushless motor


110


via a head-arm mounting assembly mounting holes


155


to the head carriage


115


. A head loading/unloading arm


160


is mounted on the base-plate


170


. The loading/unloading arm


160


presses to the head-arm


152


at the unload position at a drive-device power-off mode. The loading/unloading arm


160


is removed from the head-arm


152


when a data card


180


is loaded and the power for the drive device is turned on.




In order to assist a smooth loading of the data card


180


into the drive device


100


, a card guide plate


185


is provided. The data-card drive system


100


further includes one or several data card pins


190


to engage and fix the position of the data card


180


when the data card


180


reaches a designated operational position. The data card pins


190


increases the compatibility and interchangeability of different types of data cards for data access operations using this data card drive system


100


. The drive system


100


further includes an on/off switch


195


, which is turned on when the data card


180


reaches its final position.




The brushless motor


110


is mounted onto a motor-rack mount


200


with a rack


205


and a pinion


210


. A step motor


220


is employed to control the linear movement of the motor


110


or the movement of the data card


180


. The drive device


100


further includes a LCD display


230


to indicate the track position of the head


150


in reading or writing of data onto the data card


180


. Mounted on the base plate


170


is a printed circuit board


240


, which supports a track locator switch


245


. The printed circuit board


240


further supports various kinds of circuits for performing the functions of control and data access. These circuits includes head tracking circuit


250


, IC preamplifier


255


, head loading/unloading circuits, disable/enable read-write function circuit, servo control integrated circuit (IC), motor control IC, data separator IC, ADI interface IC, USB interface IC, PCMCIA interface IC, USB connector, PCMCIA connector, and other circuits required for controlling and operating the data card drive system.

FIGS. 1C and 1D

are cross sectional views for showing the details of the rack


205


, the pinion


210


, and the head loading and unloading assembly


160


to lift the head when the drive device


100


is turned off. A head arm lifter


103


has a wire type hook


103


A positioned above the pickup head arm


152


. The sliding of the head arm lifter


103


with the wire type hook


103


A along the motor shaft assembly can lift or lower the pickup head arm


152


and in turn lift or lower the pickup head


150


. The pickup head arm


152


is rotating with the motor shaft and the pickup head


150


. Regardless of where the pickup head


150


when the rotational movement stops, the arm


152


can always engage into the head lifter


103


slot and sliding the head lifter


103


along the motor shaft.




The drive device


100


as described above is also provided with an option to perform the functions of a servo writer. A novel servo writer is disclosed in this invention which can be manufactured with simplified manufacturing processes. The servo writer includes a storage card loading assembly that is structured similarly to a card guide


185


of the device


100


. The storage card can be inserted horizontally inserted for direct contact with the pickup head


150


. Or, depending on specific application, the data storage card can be inserted from a vertical slot opening and then flip over for contact with the pickup head. In writing the servo data, the pickup head


150


is rotating along different data tracks. The pickup head is moved to different tracks during the operation of writing servo data by either moving the head/motor assembly mounted on the shaft or by keeping the head/motor assembly stationary while horizontally moving the data storage card. The magnetic transformer is employed in writing the servo data onto different data tracks where the cables are arranged without being twisted when the pickup head is making rotational movement.





FIGS. 1F and 1G

are a top view and a cross sectional view of a preferred embodiment of a data-card servo writer system


100


′, which has a clock head


105


connected to a clock disk


107


. The clock disk


107


is disposed below the magnetic data card


180


and de-coupled from the data card


180


. The motor drives the pickup head


150


also drives the clock disk


107


. The clock disk can be rotated while the clock head


105


is fixed and stationary and mounted on the frame assembly of the servo writer system


100


′. The clock head


105


is employed to write clock signals, e.g., a binary bit


1


for the whole cycle. All of the data bits on the entire data track of the clock track are binary bit “1”. Then, a pulse is stopped to write a binary bit “0” to provide that “0” as index while using all the bit “1” for timing to format the card. Read and write signals of the clock head


105


is transmitted through wires to the clock disk


107


formed on a printed circuit board. The clock head


105


is employed to write the clock signals onto the magnetic clock disk and to read back the signals. The clock signals read back from the magnetic clock disk are used as timing signals to format the card to include the servo patterns to be further described below. Once the magnetic data-card


180


is formatted by the servo-writer system


100


′, it is ready for data read/write operations by applying a regular magnetic data-card drive system as that shown in

FIGS. 1A

to


1


E. The formatted sectors on the magnetic data-card


180


are also write-protected to prevent incidental writing over these segments. (Do we need to describe write protection in some details in order to claim this feature?)




According to

FIGS. 1A

,


1


B,


1


C and


1


D and above descriptions, the present invention discloses a data-card drive system


100


the present invention includes a magnetic data-card drive system. The drive system includes a magnetic pickup head for rotationally moving over and accessing data stored in the magnetic data-card. In a preferred embodiment, the magnetic pickup head is provided for reading data from and writing data to the magnetic data card. In another preferred embodiment, the magnetic pickup head is provided for accessing data over substantially one-half of the rotational movement. In another preferred embodiment, the magnetic pickup head is provided for accessing data over several arc-segments during the rotational movement. In another preferred embodiment, the magnetic pickup head is provided for rotating in a single rotational direction. In another preferred embodiment, the magnetic pickup head is provided for rotating in clockwise and counterclockwise directions. In another preferred embodiment, the magnetic pickup head is provided for rotating over arc segment having radius smaller than half-width of the magnetic data card. In another preferred embodiment, the magnetic pickup head is provided for rotating over an arc segment having a radius greater than half-width of the magnetic data card. In another preferred embodiment, the magnetic pickup head is provided as a removable and replaceable module. In another preferred embodiment, the magnetic pickup head is provided for accessing data by contacting the magnetic data card. In another preferred embodiment, the magnetic pickup head is provided for accessing data by rotating at a distance above the magnetic data card. In another preferred embodiment, the magnetic data-card drive system of further includes a motor that has a rotating shaft for mounting and rotating the magnetic pickup head. In another preferred embodiment, the magnetic pickup head further includes a data signal transformer for transforming a data signal through data signal induced changes of magnetic flux.





FIG. 1E

is a perspective view of an alternate configuration of a data signal transformer


120


′. The data signal wires


130


-


1


connected to the pickup head


150


′ supported on the arm


152


′ for the pickup head


150


′ are first winding around an inner signal transforming cylinder


122


′, which rotates with the rotation shaft or the motor


110


′. A stationary hollow pipe


124


′ is placed around the inner signal-transforming cylinder


122


′. A set of signal transforming wires wrap around this stationary hollow pipe


124


′. For read/write data, an electric signal representing a binary bit can be transferred from a pickup head


150


′ through the wires


135


′ to the wires wrapping around the inner signal-transforming cylinder


122


′. The electric signals, typically an electric pulse, transferred to the wires around the inner cylinder


122


′ can be detected with variations of electromagnetic field by a set of wires wrapping around the stationary hollow pipe


124


′. Similarly, the data signal for the pickup head


150


′ can also be provided to the wires wrapping around the stationary hollow pipe


124


′ as electric pulses and detected by the wires wrapping around the inner signal transforming cylinder


122


′ for transfer to the pickup head


150


′. The wires around the inner and outer cylindrical pipes function as inductive coils serving the function of data signal transformation.





FIGS. 2A

to


2


C are respectively a top view, a cross sectional view, and a bottom view of a data card


180


of the present invention. The data card


180


is formed on a substrate plate


250


. The substrate-plate


250


for magnetic recording is composed of non-magnetizable materials with a flat surface, e.g., a plastic or glass substrate plate. For magnetic recording, a magnetizable material can also be employed to form the substrate plate


250


. The substrate plate


250


is then coated with a thin layer of recording medium on one side or both sides. For magnetic recording, the coating are formed by magnetic particles coated on one-side or both sides of the substrate plate


250


. The magnetic coating can be directly on the surface of the substrate plate


250


or on a Mylar type of material with adhesive layer for attaching to the substrate plate


250


. For magnetic recording the recording medium layer can be formed by a process similar to that of a magnetic compact-disk (CD), CDR, LD, or digital video display (DVD) disks. The data card


180


can be formed with standardized sizes, e.g., PCMCIA standard sizes or standard credit card sizes, and has round or elongated holes


260


for fixing the card at pre-designated positions to initialize a data access operation. The holes


260


are fitted to the pins


190


to provide the self-centering and locking functions. The data storage card


280


can therefore be repeatedly placed at a pre-designated position with reliable accuracy. The data card


180


is provided with a plurality of data tracks


270


for storing data bit on each track. Each of these data tracks is formed as substantially an arc or arc-segments track. The data tracks


270


are substantially of a same length and are substantially parallel to each other. The data tracks


270


are formatted to include multiple sectors. One or several of these sectors can be flexibly employed to provide servo data for the purpose of identifying track locations to enhance sector seeking during a data-access operation. The servo-data are provided in sectors near both ends of the arc or arc-segments data tracks


270


as shown in FIG.


2


A. For the purpose of more precisely positioning the data card


180


in a drive device, a notch


275


is formed near the inner end of the data card


180


. With the notch


275


, the data card


180


is more conveniently placed into the drive device fitted to the initial card position ready for operation relative to the position of the pickup head


150


. The data card


180


is then covered by a protective coating


280


preventing damages from exposure to water, dust and other foreign particles introduced through the daily operational environment. The data card


180


is then stored in a data card envelop


290


for storage and shipment. The data storage tracks of the data card may contain user application and system configuration data. The recorded data can be updated in the field. Application system can either encrypt or decrypt the recorded data. Application system can also change the configuration such as set and reset the write protection, the password and other features related to the data-access operations.





FIGS. 2D

to


2


Q are top views of the data storage card


180


for showing different configuration of the data tracks


270


. The data tracks


270


-


1


can be parallel arcs facing opposite directions on either side of the data card


180


as shown in FIG.


2


D. Alternately, each of the data tracks


270


-


1


as parallel arc as that shown in

FIG. 2D

can be partitioned into a plurality of arc-segment


270


-


2


as that shown in FIG.


2


E. In a similar manner, the data tracks can be parallel arcs


270


-


3


formed over the entire data card area as that shown in FIG.


2


F. Furthermore, each of the parallel arcs


270


-


3


of

FIG. 2F

can also be partitioned into a plurality of arc segments


270


-


4


as that shown in FIG.


2


G.




According to

FIGS. 1

to


2


, this invention discloses a magnetic data-storage card. The magnetic data-storage card includes a magnetic data-storage medium layer supported on the card. The data-storage medium layer includes a plurality of data storage tracks for storing data therein. Each of the tracks comprising at least an arc-segment wherein each of the data storage track being substantially parallel to a neighboring track. In a preferred embodiment, each of the arc-segments are substantially of a same segment length. In a preferred embodiment, the data-storage tracks further storing servo control data. In a preferred embodiment, the data-storage tracks further storing the servo-control data at a substantially same relative position on the data-storage tracks. In another preferred embodiment, the data-storage tracks further storing the servo-control data near edges of the data-storage card on the data-storage tracks. In another preferred embodiment, each of the data-storage tracks is substantially a semicircular arc-segment. In another preferred embodiment, each of the data-storage tracks includes several arc segments. In another preferred embodiment, the magnetic data-storage card further includes self-positioning guiding means for guiding the card to a loading position when inserted into a data card drive device. In another preferred embodiment, the magnetic data storage card having a first side and a second side and the data-storage tracks are disposed on the first and second sides. In another preferred embodiment, the magnetic data storage further includes a card jacket for storing the data storage card.




Furthermore, this invention provides a new method for storing data in a magnetic data-storage card. The method includes the steps of a) providing a magnetic data-storage medium layer supported on the data-storage card. And, b) forming in the data-storage medium layer a plurality of data storage tracks for storing data therein by forming each of the tracks to include at least an arc-segment and each of the data storage tracks substantially parallel to a neighboring track. In a preferred embodiment, the step of forming the data'storage tracks as arc segments is a step of forming each of the arc segments substantially of a same segment length. In another preferred embodiment, the method further includes a step of storing servo control data in the data-storage tracks. In another preferred embodiment, the step of storing the servo-control data is a step of storing the servo-control data at a substantially same relative position on the data-storage tracks. In another preferred embodiment, the step of storing the servo-control data is a step of storing the servo-control data near edges of the data-storage card on the data-storage tracks. In another preferred embodiment, the step of forming the data-storage to include at least an arc segment is a step of forming each of the data-storage tracks substantially as a semicircular arc-segment. In another preferred embodiment, the step of forming the data-storage to include at least an arc segment is a step of forming each of the data-storage tracks to include several arc segments. In another preferred embodiment, the method further includes a step of providing a self-positioning guiding means for guiding the magnetic data-storage card to a loading position when inserted into a data card drive device. In another preferred embodiment, the step of providing a magnetic data-storage medium layer supported on the card is a step of providing the magnetic data storage card to include a first side and a second side. And, the step of forming in the data-storage medium layer a plurality of data storage tracks is a step of forming the data-storage tracks on the first and second sides. In another preferred embodiment, the method further includes a step of providing a card jacket for storing the data storage card.





FIGS. 3A and 3B

are a perspective view and a side view of a data card storage rack


295


for storing a plurality of data card


180


therein. The data card storage rack


295


as shown can be formed as partitioned storage box with each compartment ready to receive one data card


180


. The data card storage rack


295


can function as a portable digital camera album or a backup data store for long term data storage.





FIG. 4

shows a subsystem


300


of this invention that includes a data card drive device


310


identical with the drive device


100


described above according to

FIGS. 1A

to


1


C. The disk drive device


310


performs the data access tasks on a data storage card


320


identical to the data card


180


described above according to

FIGS. 2A

to


2


C. The subsystem


300


further includes a local memory


330


, which can be a DRAM or SRAM memory device connected to the disk drive device


310


. The data stored in data card


320


can be first down loaded to the memory device


330


through a data bus for data storage. The subsystem


300


further includes a function control panel


340


to allow a user to control the subsystem startup, shutdown, save, update, and duplication of the data stored in the card. The subsystem


300


is further provided with a connection terminal


350


for connection to a personal computer, a printer, a scanner or other peripheral devices for operation together with the drive device subsystem


300


. A power supply


360


is employed and connected to the subsystem


300


to provide power necessary for operating the drive device


310


, the memory


340


and the control panel


330


.




Referring to

FIGS. 5A

to


5


C for examples to illustrate the servo signal patterns written onto the arc segments of the data-storage tracks on a data storage card.

FIG. 5A

shows the data storage tracks as arc segments, which may or may not be circular arcs. The servo writer must write servo signals on these data-tracks. Referring to

FIG. 5B

, the surface area of the magnetic data-storage card is divided into zones A to F according to clockwise direction. The servo writer should be disabled for Zones A, B, D, and E since these zones are not part of the data tracks. The servo writer must also be disabled in zone E because the servo data may be overlapped and create confusions in the process of pickup head location and track determinations. It is obvious the conventional servo writer and control mechanisms can no longer be employed for the magnetic data card drive system of this invention.




As shown in

FIG. 5A

, the length of the data tracks depends on the size and dimensions of the data card. Each data track is divided into N segments and each segment is provided to contain pre-defined servo data, prerecorded data and/or definitions of area for data records.

FIG. 5C

is an example of the data arrangements across the tracks of such segment. The total number of data tracks N is determined by the requirements of the accuracy of the mechanical and electrical responses. The servo data shown in

FIG. 5C

can provide the track profile, the location of the track and the relative location of signal pickup head to a data track along a track.




Referring to the details of data arrangement shown in

FIG. 5C

, the signals generated from data bit-patterns A and B are for position determination. Each data track has a half data slots provided for A and half of the slots provided for B. The balance of A and B detected by the pickup head and the track location determination circuits provide indications that the pickup head is travelling in the center of the data track. Table 1 shows the data sample employed for providing servo data for track and location determinations as the pickup head is travelling over the surface of the magnetic data storage card.












TABLE 1









Example of Partial Servo Segment Data



























SYNC




1010101010101010








ADM




1000000010000001







ST IDX




11 for First Segment




00 for other segments







ED IDX




11 for last segment




00 for other segments







A




0000001100000000







B




0000000000000011















Referring to

FIG. 5D

, since the data track can only be arc-segments as that shown

FIG. 5A

, the servo writer must start and stop to layout patterns at pre-determined locations. An index is used as a reference point at a fixed location on the magnetic data-storage card. The starting point SX and the stopping position EX of the servo data are derived from the reference point IX as shown in

FIG. 5D. A

servo control circuit is employed to enable and disable the pattern layout process and to move the magnetic pickup head and the flat data-storage medium, i.e., the magnetic data storage card by using the feedback by detecting these three indices. An exemplary functional block diagram for implementing the control logic in the servo control circuit is shown in FIG.


5


E.




According to

FIGS. 5A

to


5


E, this invention discloses a magnetic servo writer. The magnetic servo writer includes a magnetic pickup head for rotationally moving over and writing servo data in a magnetic flat data-storage medium. The magnetic servo writer further includes a clock head for providing clock signals to the pickup head and to write clack signals in the clock disk. The magnetic pickup head is provided for writing SYNC data for synchronization of read channel, and ADM data for providing address mark for indicating data-types following the ADM data. The magnetic pickup head is provided for writing ST IDX data for indicating a first valid data segment, ED IDX data for indicating a last valid data segment, and GRAY CODE data for indicating a head number, a sector number, and a track number. Furthermore, the magnetic pickup head is provided for writing SERVO POS data for indicating a relative position of signal head to a data track, DATA & GAP data for indicating an area for containing pre-recorded data. In a preferred embodiment, the magnetic pickup head is provided for writing index data for indicating a valid data track segment.




According to the functional block diagram of FIG.


5


E and

FIGS. 1F and 1G

, a magnetic servo writer is disclosed in this invention. The magnetic servo writer includes a magnetic pickup head for rotationally moving over and writing servo data in a magnetic flat data-storage medium. The magnetic servo writer further includes a clock head for providing clock signals to the clock head and to write clock signals in the magnetic clock disk. The magnetic servo writer further includes a control circuit for controlling the magnetic pickup head for writing the servo data on the magnetic flat data-storage medium. The magnetic servo writer further includes a servo pattern layout circuit for controlling the magnetic pickup head for writing the servo data on the magnetic flat data-storage medium with predefined servo patterns. The magnetic servo writer further includes a derived index control circuit for deriving indices from a fixed index provided on the magnetic flat data-storage medium. The magnetic servo writer further includes a fixed index and clock track circuit for providing a fix index and a clock signal for controlling the magnetic pickup head for writing the servo data on the magnetic flat data-storage medium. The magnetic servo writer further includes a head move circuit for controlling a movement of the magnetic pickup head for writing the servo data on the magnetic flat data-storage medium. The magnetic servo writer further includes a medium movement circuit for controlling a linear movement of the magnetic flat data-storage medium for writing the servo data on the magnetic flat data-storage medium.




Therefore, the present invention discloses a data storage-card drive system with a pickup head moving above a data-storage card in rotational movement. The data read-write functions are enabled only for an arc segment, e.g., half-circle, or several arc segments of the rotational movement. The data tracks are arranged as plurality of parallel arcs, e.g., half-circles, or arc-segments with uniform data bit storage density. Specifically, a pickup head is provided, which is driven by a brushless motor to rotate over the data-storage card. The motor is mounted on a carriage for making horizontal movement along a longitudinal direction of the data card. The position of the pickup head is then servo-controlled by moving the carriage and the brushless motor while the data storage card either stays at a fixed position or making only forward-backward movements. The difficulties and limitations encountered in the prior art due to a non-uniform data storage density among different data tracks are resolved by this invention. The technical difficulties caused by problems in loading/unloading of the pickup head to the recording medium, the transfer of read/write signal between the pickup head and the processing circuits, and the self centering of the data card in a data card drive device are also resolved by this invention. Furthermore, the difficulty of positioning and lifting horizontal rotating pickup head parallel to a flat recording surface at any intermediate stop location to convert the signal from the flat card to parallel rotating pickup head to process circuit




Although the present invention has been described in terms of the presently preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that such disclosure is not to be interpreted as limiting. Various alternations and modifications will no doubt become apparent to those skilled in the art after reading the above disclosure. Accordingly, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as covering all alternations and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.



Claims
  • 1. A magnetic servo writer comprising:a single rotating magnetic pickup head for rotationally moving over and writing servo data in a magnetic flat data-storage medium for servo-controlling said single rotating magnetic pickup head wherein said single rotating magnetic pickup head is disabled during a specific range of rotational angular positions when rotating over said data storage medium; and a lateral movement means for moving said flat data-storage medium along lateral directions substantially perpendicular to a rotational axis of said single rotating pickup head.
  • 2. The magnetic servo writer of claim 1 wherein:said single rotating magnetic pickup head is provided for writing SYNC data for read channel synchronization for servo-controlling said single rotating magnetic pickup head.
  • 3. The magnetic servo writer of claim 1 wherein:said single rotating magnetic pickup head is provided for writing ADM data for providing address mark for indicating data-types following said ADM data for servo-controlling said single rotating magnetic pickup head.
  • 4. The magnetic servo writer of claim 1 wherein:said single rotating magnetic pickup head is provided for writing ST IDX data for indicating a first valid data segment for servo-controlling said single rotating magnetic pickup head.
  • 5. The magnetic servo writer of claim 1 wherein:said single rotating magnetic pickup head is provided for writing ED IDX data for indicating a last valid data segment for servo-controlling said single rotating magnetic pickup head.
  • 6. The magnetic servo writer of claim 1 wherein:said single rotating magnetic pickup head is provided for writing GRAY CODE data for indicating a head number, a sector number, and a track number for servo-controlling said single rotating magnetic pickup head.
  • 7. The magnetic servo writer of claim 1 wherein:said single rotating magnetic pickup head is provided for writing SERVO POS data for indicating a relative position of said single rotating magnetic pickup head to a data track for servo controlling said single rotating magnetic pickup head.
  • 8. The magnetic servo writer of claim 1 wherein:said single rotating magnetic pickup head is provided for writing DATA & GAP data for indicating an area for containing pre-recorded data for servo-controlling said single rotating magnetic pickup head.
  • 9. The magnetic servo writer of claim 1 wherein:said single rotating magnetic pickup head is provided for writing index data for indicating a valid data track segment for servo-controlling said single rotating magnetic pickup head.
  • 10. The magnetic servo writer of claim 1 further comprising:a control circuit for controlling said single rotating magnetic pickup head for writing said servo data on said magnetic flat data-storage medium provided only to move along lateral directions substantially perpendicular to a rotational axis of said single rotating pickup head.
  • 11. The magnetic servo writer of claim 1 further comprising:a servo pattern layout circuit for controlling said single rotating magnetic pickup head for writing said servo data on said magnetic flat data-storage medium with predefined servo patterns for servo-controlling said single rotating magnetic pickup head.
  • 12. The magnetic servo writer of claim 1 further comprising:a derived index control circuit for deriving indices from a fixed index provided on said magnetic flat data-storage medium provided only to move along lateral directions substantially perpendicular to a rotational axis of said single rotating pickup head.
  • 13. The magnetic servo writer of claim 1 further comprising:a fixed index and clock track circuit for providing a fix index and a clock signal for controlling said single rotating magnetic pickup head for writing said servo data on said magnetic flat data-storage medium provided only to move along lateral directions substantially perpendicular to a rotational axis of said single rotating pickup head.
  • 14. The magnetic servo writer of claim 1 further comprising:a head move circuit for controlling a movement of said single rotating magnetic pickup head for writing said servo data on said magnetic flat data-storage medium provided only to move along lateral directions substantially perpendicular to a rotational axis of said single rotating pickup head.
  • 15. The magnetic servo writer of claim 1 further comprising:a medium movement circuit for controlling a linear movement of said magnetic flat data-storage medium along lateral directions substantially perpendicular to a rotational axis of said single rotating pickup head for writing said servo data on said magnetic flat data-storage medium.
Parent Case Info

This Application is a Continuous Prosecution Application (CPA) of a pending application Ser. No. 09/289,427 filed on Apr. 9, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,980. Application Ser. No. 09/289,427 is a Continuation-in-Part (CIP) Formal Application claims a Priority Date of Apr. 9, 1998, benefited from a previously filed Provisional Application No. 60/081,257 by the same Applicants of this Application.

US Referenced Citations (3)
Number Name Date Kind
5608699 Hayashi et al. Mar 1997 A
5942744 Kamo et al. Aug 1999 A
6188535 Lemke et al. Feb 2001 B1
Provisional Applications (1)
Number Date Country
60/081257 Apr 1998 US
Continuations (1)
Number Date Country
Parent 09/289427 Apr 1999 US
Child 10/191959 US