GB2266402A - System for identifying data storage tapes - Google Patents
System for identifying data storage tapes Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2266402A GB2266402A GB9208663A GB9208663A GB2266402A GB 2266402 A GB2266402 A GB 2266402A GB 9208663 A GB9208663 A GB 9208663A GB 9208663 A GB9208663 A GB 9208663A GB 2266402 A GB2266402 A GB 2266402A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- tape
- data storage
- drive
- data
- transparent
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
- 238000013500 data storage Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 29
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 5
- 238000012544 monitoring process Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 4
- 230000002401 inhibitory effect Effects 0.000 claims description 8
- 230000001678 irradiating effect Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 230000005855 radiation Effects 0.000 description 4
- 239000000853 adhesive Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000001070 adhesive effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000011248 coating agent Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000000576 coating method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000009472 formulation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000003993 interaction Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000696 magnetic material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000000203 mixture Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000005236 sound signal Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000003068 static effect Effects 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B23/00—Record carriers not specific to the method of recording or reproducing; Accessories, e.g. containers, specially adapted for co-operation with the recording or reproducing apparatus ; Intermediate mediums; Apparatus or processes specially adapted for their manufacture
- G11B23/30—Record carriers not specific to the method of recording or reproducing; Accessories, e.g. containers, specially adapted for co-operation with the recording or reproducing apparatus ; Intermediate mediums; Apparatus or processes specially adapted for their manufacture with provision for auxiliary signals
- G11B23/34—Signal means additional to the main recording track, e.g. photoelectric sensing of sprocket holes for timing
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B15/00—Driving, starting or stopping record carriers of filamentary or web form; Driving both such record carriers and heads; Guiding such record carriers or containers therefor; Control thereof; Control of operating function
- G11B15/02—Control of operating function, e.g. switching from recording to reproducing
- G11B15/05—Control of operating function, e.g. switching from recording to reproducing by sensing features present on or derived from record carrier or container
- G11B15/06—Control of operating function, e.g. switching from recording to reproducing by sensing features present on or derived from record carrier or container by sensing auxiliary features on record carriers or containers, e.g. to stop machine near the end of a tape
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B15/00—Driving, starting or stopping record carriers of filamentary or web form; Driving both such record carriers and heads; Guiding such record carriers or containers therefor; Control thereof; Control of operating function
- G11B15/02—Control of operating function, e.g. switching from recording to reproducing
- G11B15/05—Control of operating function, e.g. switching from recording to reproducing by sensing features present on or derived from record carrier or container
- G11B15/06—Control of operating function, e.g. switching from recording to reproducing by sensing features present on or derived from record carrier or container by sensing auxiliary features on record carriers or containers, e.g. to stop machine near the end of a tape
- G11B15/08—Control of operating function, e.g. switching from recording to reproducing by sensing features present on or derived from record carrier or container by sensing auxiliary features on record carriers or containers, e.g. to stop machine near the end of a tape by photoelectric sensing
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
- G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
- G11B23/00—Record carriers not specific to the method of recording or reproducing; Accessories, e.g. containers, specially adapted for co-operation with the recording or reproducing apparatus ; Intermediate mediums; Apparatus or processes specially adapted for their manufacture
- G11B23/02—Containers; Storing means both adapted to cooperate with the recording or reproducing means
- G11B23/04—Magazines; Cassettes for webs or filaments
- G11B23/08—Magazines; Cassettes for webs or filaments for housing webs or filaments having two distinct ends
- G11B23/087—Magazines; Cassettes for webs or filaments for housing webs or filaments having two distinct ends using two different reels or cores
- G11B23/08707—Details
- G11B23/08714—Auxiliary features
Landscapes
- Management Or Editing Of Information On Record Carriers (AREA)
Abstract
A system for identifying data storage tapes comprises a tape drive (18) together with a DAT DDS cassette (10) containing magnetic tape. The data storage portion 44 of the tape is secured to a transparent leader tape 42 by a transparent splice (46), which has at least one opaque stripe 48 located on it over the leader tape. Circuitry (40) in the drive for finding the junction of the data storage portion and the leader tape, by monitoring the output signal of an optical sensor (32), is also arranged to monitor for toggling of the signal prior to the junction. Such toggling indicates that the opaque stripe is present and the cassette is a DDS type. The absence of toggling indicates that the cassette is not a DDS type, in which case the write-protect mechanism (26) of the drive is activated to prevent writing of data to the tape and thus the possibility of loss of that data. <IMAGE>
Description
System for identifying data storage tapes
This invention relates to a system for identifying data storage tapes, and in particular data storage tapes conforming to the DAT (Digital Audio Tape) standard.
Although the DAT standard was originally conceived for the storage of audio signals, it has subsequently been extended to allow the reliable storage and retrieval of large volumes of digital data, in particular by means of the DDS (Digital Data Storage) format defined in ISO/IEC Standard 10777:1991 E.
Because the technical constaints for DDS are much stricter than those for audio
DAT, especially in relation to the much lower maximum error rate which is tolerable for
DDS, it is desirable that tapes developed specifically for digital data storage are used in
DDS tape drives. DDS quality tapes differ from DAT audio tapes primarily in terms of the precise formulation of the magnetic coating on the tape, although the basic magnetic material used is the same. A DAT audio tape cassette will physically fit into a DDS drive, and data can be written to and read from it, but it is likely that the user will experience a significant level of unreliability and loss of data. Accordingly it is desirable for a DDS drive to be able to recognize that a DAT audio tape has been inserted into it, instead of a DDS quality tape, and automatically to inhibit storage of data on that tape.
According to one aspect of this invention, there is provided a system for identifying data storage tapes, comprising a tape drive and a data storage tape, wherein the tape has:
a terminal portion with a physical characteristic (e.g. optical transparency) which
differs from that of the data storage portion of the tape; and
a section (e.g. an opaque stripe) on the terminal portion arranged to cause a change
from and back to said physical characteristic of the terminal portion; and wherein the tape drive includes:
means for selectively inhibiting storage of data on a tape loaded into the drive;
means for detecting the junction between the terminal portion of the tape and the
data storage portion of the tape;
means for detecting a change from and back to said physical characteristic of the
terminal portion prior to said junction; and
means for controlling operation of said storage inhibiting means in accordance with
whether said change is detected prior to said junction.
According to another aspect of this invention there is provided a system for identifying data storage tapes, comprising a tape drive and a data storage tape, wherein the tape has:
an opaque data storage portion and a transparent leader portion;
a transparent splicing tape linking said portions; and
an opaque stripe formed on said splice and spaced from the point where said data storage and leader portions meet; and wherein the tape drive has:
means for selectively inhibiting storage of data on a tape loaded into the drive;
optical means for irradiating a section of tape and for producing a change in output
signal when said irradiated section changes from transparent to opaque or vice
versa;
means for monitoring said output signal at the start of a tape and for controlling
operation of said storage inhibiting means in accordance with whether a plurality
of changes occurs in said output signal.
With such a system it is possible to ensure that the tape drive only attempts to record data on a tape which is specifically intended for data storage. A DAT audio tape (which lacks the opaque stripe or other change in physical characteristic prior to the start of the data storage portion of the tape) can still be read, in case data has been previously recorded on it in a different drive which does not distinguish tape types; however the drive will not attempt to record on it but will treat it as if it has been write-protected by the user, thereby avoiding the risk of excessive error rates.
A system for identifying data storage tapes will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic view of a DDS tape cassette and a DDS tape drive;
Figure 2a is a fragmentary view of the beginning of the tape in the cassette;
Figure 2b is a side view of the tape in Figure 2a; and
Figure 3 is a flow chart showing steps involved in identification of the type
of tape loaded into the drive of Figure 1.
Referring to Figure 1, a DDS tape cassette 10 includes a casing or shell 12 containing two reels 14 on which is wound a length of magnetic recording tape 16. The tape extends from one reel 14 round tape guides (not shown), along an edge of the shell 12 to the other reel. The cassette is designed to be inserted into a DDS tape drive, shown schematically at 18; as indicated by dashed lines, the reels 14 engage with drive spindles 20 in the drive. The precise details of the design and interaction of the cassette 10 and drive 18 are well known to those skilled in this art and need not be repeated here.
The drive 18 includes a capstan (not shown) for moving the tape past a rotating electromagnetic read-write head drum 22 around which the tape is wrapped by a tape-wrap mechanism (not shown), so that data can be written to and read from the tape. During writing to the tape, current is supplied to coils in the head drum 22 by an amplifier 24, through a circuit which includes a switch 26.
The cassette shell 12 has a series of holes along one edge which are intended to provide the tape drive 18 with information about the nature of the tape 16. In addition, one of the these holes, referenced as 28, can be opened or closed at the choice of the tape ser, to indicate whether the tape is write-protected (i.e. so that writing to the tape in inhibited to avoid over-writing data which is already recorded on the tape). A sensor 30 on the tape drive 18 senses the condition of this hole, and if it is open, indicating the tape is write-protected, the sensor 30 opens the switch 26 to prevent the flow of write current from the amplifier 24 through the head drum 22.
The tape drive 18 also has an optical end-of-tape sensor 32 comprising a lamp 34 and a photo-cell 36. The lamp projects a light beam into the cassette shell 12 adjacent one end of the edge of the shell where the tape path runs. A prism 38 is located in the cassette shell at this end, inside the tape path, so that light reaching the prism from the lamp is returned towards the photo-cell. The tape 16, which is inherently opaque to radiation at the wavelength sensed by the photo-cell 36, has a terminal portion or leader which is transparent to this radiation.Thus the drive can locate the beginning of the data storage portion of the tape 16 by moving the tape until the output signal from the photo-cell changes, indicating a change from transparent leader (radiation travelling from the lamp 34, through the leader, to the prism 38, back through the leader, and to the photo-cell 36) to opaque tape. The monitoring of the output of the photo-cell is carried out by a detector 40, which may conveniently be implemented in the form of a microprocessor program routine along with other program routines for coordinating the operation of the tape drive 18. Such a program routine may be arranged, for example, to sample the level of the output signal from the photo-cell 36 at regular intervals.The detector 40 can control the state of the write-protect switch 26 in parallel with the sensor 30 (i.e. the switch 26 is opened if this is required by either the sensor 30 or the detector 40).
Referring to Figures 2a and 2b, the DDS cassette tape 16 is provided with a transparent tape leader, shown at 42, which is secured to the magnetic recording tape 44 by an adhesive splice 46 which is also transparent to the radiation sensed by the photo-cell 36. In accordance with this invention the splice 46 has an opaque section or stripe 48 located over the transparent leader 42 and spaced from the junction between the magnetic tape 44 and the leader 42.
In operation, when the cassette 10 is inserted into the drive 18 the tape 16 is wrapped around the drum 22 and the capstan commences moving the tape while the output of the photo-cell 36 is monitored by the detector 40. Initially the detector 40 receives a static signal from the photo-cell 36; however, when the opaque stripe 48 of the splice 46 passes through the light-beam from the lamp 34, the detector 40 will receive a first change in output signal from the photo-cell 36, followed by a second change as the opaque stripe moves out of the light-beam and then a third change as the magnetic tape 44 itself moves into the light beam. The detector 40 is arranged to wait a predetermined time interval for any further possible changes in the output signal from the photo-cell 36 before establishing that the beginning of the magnetic tape 44 has been located.
If the detector 40 observes the output signal from the photo-cell 36 to toggle back and forth as just described, it does not alter the state of the switch 26; therefore writing of data onto the tape 44 is enabled unless the user has write-protected the tape by opening the hole 28. However, if the detector 40 does not detect any such toggling (i.e. no further change of the photo-cell output signal is detected within the predetermined time interval after the occurrence of the first such change) then the detector 40 opens the switch 26 so that writing of data onto the tape 44 is inhibited irrespective of the state of the writeprotect hole 28. The absence of any toggling of the photo-cell output signal is taken to mean that the tape is not a DDS quality tape. A sequence of steps by which the detector 40 can identify the type of tape is summarized in the flow chart of Figure 3.
Claims (2)
1. A system for identifying data storage tapes, comprising a tape drive and a data storage tape, wherein the tape has:
a terminal portion with a physical characteristic which differs from that of the data
storage portion of the tape; and
a section on the terminal portion arranged to cause a change from and back to said
physical characteristic of the terminal portion; and wherein the tape drive includes:
means for selectively inhibiting storage of data on a tape loaded into the drive;
means for detecting the junction between the terminal portion of the tape and the
data storage portion of the tape;
means for detecting a change from and back to said physical characteristic of the
terminal portion prior to said junction; and
means for controlling operation of said storage inhibiting means in accordance with
whether said change is detected prior to said junction.
2. A system for identifying data storage tapes, comprising a tape drive and a data storage tape, wherein the tape has:
an opaque data storage portion and a transparent leader portion;
a transparent splicing tape linking said portions; and
an opaque stripe formed on said splice and spaced from the point where said data
storage and leader portions meet; and wherein the tape drive has:
means for selectively inhibiting storage of data on a tape loaded into the drive;
optical means for irradiating a section of tape and for producing a change in output
signal when said irradiated section changes from transparent to opaque or vice
versa;
means for monitoring said output signal at the start of a tape and for controlling
operation of said storage inhibiting means in accordance with whether a plurality
of changes occurs in said output signal.
Priority Applications (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9208663A GB2266402B (en) | 1992-04-22 | 1992-04-22 | System for identifying data storage tapes |
| DE9305721U DE9305721U1 (en) | 1992-04-22 | 1993-04-16 | System for identifying data storage tapes |
| JP2617293U JP2607305Y2 (en) | 1992-04-22 | 1993-04-21 | Tape identification system |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9208663A GB2266402B (en) | 1992-04-22 | 1992-04-22 | System for identifying data storage tapes |
Publications (3)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB9208663D0 GB9208663D0 (en) | 1992-06-10 |
| GB2266402A true GB2266402A (en) | 1993-10-27 |
| GB2266402B GB2266402B (en) | 1995-11-08 |
Family
ID=10714347
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9208663A Expired - Lifetime GB2266402B (en) | 1992-04-22 | 1992-04-22 | System for identifying data storage tapes |
Country Status (3)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| JP (1) | JP2607305Y2 (en) |
| DE (1) | DE9305721U1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB2266402B (en) |
Cited By (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO2003049110A1 (en) * | 2001-12-04 | 2003-06-12 | Quantum Corporation | Tape media identification code |
| EP1345229A2 (en) * | 2002-03-14 | 2003-09-17 | Quantum Corporation | Tape cartridge format identification in a single reel tape handling device |
| EP1622146A1 (en) * | 2004-07-30 | 2006-02-01 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Magnetic tape identifier |
| US7126779B2 (en) | 2001-12-04 | 2006-10-24 | Quantum Corporation | Tape media identification code |
Citations (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4843490A (en) * | 1987-03-27 | 1989-06-27 | Teac Corporation | System for discriminating between two tape assemblies of different recording characteristics to be loaded interchangeably in data transfer apparatus |
| EP0347074A2 (en) * | 1988-06-17 | 1989-12-20 | Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company | Magnetic tape cartridge identification |
| WO1992005549A1 (en) * | 1990-09-17 | 1992-04-02 | Gigatape Systeme Für Datensicherung Gmbh | Magnetic tape |
-
1992
- 1992-04-22 GB GB9208663A patent/GB2266402B/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1993
- 1993-04-16 DE DE9305721U patent/DE9305721U1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1993-04-21 JP JP2617293U patent/JP2607305Y2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Patent Citations (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4843490A (en) * | 1987-03-27 | 1989-06-27 | Teac Corporation | System for discriminating between two tape assemblies of different recording characteristics to be loaded interchangeably in data transfer apparatus |
| EP0347074A2 (en) * | 1988-06-17 | 1989-12-20 | Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company | Magnetic tape cartridge identification |
| WO1992005549A1 (en) * | 1990-09-17 | 1992-04-02 | Gigatape Systeme Für Datensicherung Gmbh | Magnetic tape |
Cited By (8)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO2003049110A1 (en) * | 2001-12-04 | 2003-06-12 | Quantum Corporation | Tape media identification code |
| US7126779B2 (en) | 2001-12-04 | 2006-10-24 | Quantum Corporation | Tape media identification code |
| EP1345229A2 (en) * | 2002-03-14 | 2003-09-17 | Quantum Corporation | Tape cartridge format identification in a single reel tape handling device |
| EP1345229A3 (en) * | 2002-03-14 | 2005-12-21 | Quantum Corporation | Tape cartridge format identification in a single reel tape handling device |
| EP1973112A2 (en) * | 2002-03-14 | 2008-09-24 | Quantum Corporation | Tape cartridge format identification in a single reel tape handling device |
| EP1973112A3 (en) * | 2002-03-14 | 2009-04-01 | Quantum Corporation | Tape cartridge format identification in a single reel tape handling device |
| EP1622146A1 (en) * | 2004-07-30 | 2006-02-01 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Magnetic tape identifier |
| US8120876B2 (en) | 2004-07-30 | 2012-02-21 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Medium for use in a tape drive apparatus having identification segment and a segment identification pattern |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| JP2607305Y2 (en) | 2001-07-09 |
| JPH0619131U (en) | 1994-03-11 |
| GB2266402B (en) | 1995-11-08 |
| GB9208663D0 (en) | 1992-06-10 |
| DE9305721U1 (en) | 1993-07-08 |
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| CA1077618A (en) | Detection device for detecting ends of a cassette tape | |
| US5265082A (en) | Rewritable media protectable as written-once-only media and system and method for use therewith | |
| US6865047B2 (en) | Single reel tape cartridge and recording and reproducing device using the tape cartridge | |
| US4022395A (en) | Tape cassette | |
| US4365277A (en) | Device for detecting the position of a tape in a magnetic tape recording and/or reproducing apparatus | |
| US20060082916A1 (en) | Tape drive apparatus | |
| EP1622146A1 (en) | Magnetic tape identifier | |
| GB2266402A (en) | System for identifying data storage tapes | |
| US5474249A (en) | Method for producing tape leaders for hubs | |
| EP0677847B1 (en) | Label for data cartridge | |
| JP3427386B2 (en) | Tape cassette | |
| EP0496461A1 (en) | Cassette provided with magnetic tape and method of manufacturing the cassette | |
| US6385001B1 (en) | Media identification for magnetic tape drive | |
| US6452746B1 (en) | Tape cassette | |
| JP2000100120A (en) | Tape type identifying method in tape cassette | |
| US5923810A (en) | Index signal recording and reproduction apparatus and method for a recording medium | |
| JP3339176B2 (en) | Tape formatting method, tape formatting device, and cassette tape | |
| JP3834859B2 (en) | Cleaning cassette and magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus | |
| JP2600291B2 (en) | Recording and playback device | |
| KR100229805B1 (en) | Tape loading controlling device and method for video cassette recorder | |
| KR100257259B1 (en) | Control device and method in writing information of magnetic tape | |
| JP2864645B2 (en) | Tape recorder | |
| JPH04101939U (en) | magnetic recording and reproducing device | |
| JP3009271B2 (en) | Magnetic recording / reproducing apparatus and magnetic tape cassette used therein | |
| EP0639828A1 (en) | Magnetic information recording/reproducing apparatus and magnetic medium for use therewith |
Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE20 | Patent expired after termination of 20 years |
Expiry date: 20120421 |