MXPA00012524A - Data system with support surfaces for reciprocating data head - Google Patents

Abstract

A data system (1) includes a credit card type substrate (3) and a data unit (2). The substrate has first and second edges (28, 30) and a data surface region (26) between the edges. The data unit includes a base (4), a substrate support (60) mounted to the base for controlled movement along a first path (14), and a data head driver (6), also mounted to the base, including a data head which reciprocates along a second path (10) oriented perpendicular to the first path. The data head contacts the data surface region on the substrate and first and second data head support surfaces (120, 122) located at opposite ends of the second path adjacent to the first and second edges of the substrate. The data head support surfaces and the data surface region are coplanar. The data unit also includes a substrate feeder (16), which delivers the substrate to and removes the substrate from the substrate support, and a substrate positioner (68, 70, 82, 94, 98), which properly positions the substrate on and secures the substrate to the substrate support.

Description

DATA SYSTEM. WITH SUPPORT SURFACES FOR THE RECIPROCAL MOVEMENT OF THE DATA HEAD BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Digital data is stored in many forms.

A data storage device uses rotating discs having a magnetic surface, which contains the digital data. The disks typically rotate at a high rate of speed with the various data tracks being accessed by a radially mobile data head. Another type of data storage device is the credit card that has a magnetic strip along its surface. However, such cards have a limited storage capacity due to the nature of the magnetic strip and the method of recording the data on this magnetic strip.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a data system, especially suitable for use with credit card-type substrates, which allows much more data to be written on and read from the substrate, available with credit cards with girdles. conventional magnetic The data system broadly includes a substrate, such as a credit card type substrate, and a data unit. This substrate has a first and second edges and a region of data surface between the edges. This region of data surface is electronically coated or coated with nickel-cobalt, as opposed to conventional credit cards, which use ferrous oxide. The data unit includes several components that support a base. A substrate support, which supports the substrate, is mounted to the base for controlled movement along a first path. This first path can be straight or curved. A data head unit is mounted to the base and includes a data head that can be reciprocally moved along a second path. The first and second trajectories are generally transverse, typically perpendicular, to each other. This data head includes a data head surface that contacts the data surface region on the substrate. The data unit also includes first and second data head support surfaces, positioned along the second path, adjacent the first and second edges of the substrate. The surface of the data head also makes contact with the first and second support surfaces of the data head, as this data head moves along the second path. The support surfaces of the data head are preferably coplanar with the region of the data surface of the substrate. This provides a smooth transition for the data head, between the region of the data surface and the support surfaces of the data head. The use of the data head support surfaces provides a region for the data head to accelerate and decelerate at each end of a pass over the region of the data surface, so that the data head can move over the data head. surface region of data at a constant surface velocity. The invention may also include a substrate manipulator, which includes a substrate feeder, which delivers a substrate to, and removes the substrate from, the substrate support, and a substrate setter, which automatically places the substrate on, and ensures the substrate, the substrate support. The substrate setter typically includes loading rollers and a cleaning roller can be included to clean the data surface region as the substrate passes through the substrate feeder.

Other features and advantages will appear from the following description, in which the preferred embodiments have been pointed out in detail, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a simplified plan view of a data unit manufactured according to the invention; Figures 2A, 2B and 2C are front, side and rear elevation views of the substrate of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side view, illustrating the configuration of the opening in the inlet of the card of Figure 1; Figure 4A is a simplified schematic view, illustrating the entry of the card, the card sensor and the first feeder rollers of the substrate feeder of Figure 1, - Figure 4B illustrates the components of Figure 4A with a card being inserted through the card input and through the card sensor, which activates the first loading rollers, which will then grip the card, as the user continues inserting the card through the card input; Figures 5A and 5B are top and side elevation views of a portion of the substrate feeder of Figure 1, but also illustrate a counter-rotating cleaning roller, not shown in Figure 1 for clarity, with the card coupled by the first and second sets of loading rollers and the upper surface of the card being cleaned by the counter-rotating cleaning roller; Figures 6A and 6B illustrate the movement of the card between the third loading rollers, passing a sensor and towards the card holder of the card support assembly of Figure 1; Figure 7A is a simplified view, illustrating the coupling of the bottom of a mobile side registration member with a bolt extending from the base, when the card carriage, on which the card holder is mounted, copper; is in the loading / unloading position, this loading / unloading position being indicated by the card in dashed lines in Figure 1; Figure 7B illustrates the release of the mobile side registration member, as the carriage begins to move away from the loading / unloading position towards the solid line position of Figure 1, thus capturing the third and fourth edges of the card between the mobile and stationary side registration members; Figures 8A and 8B are plan views of the card holder and the card, showing how the card guide of Figures 1 and 6A deflects this card in its fully charged position, as the carriage moves towards the position, in solid line, of Figure 1; Figures 9A and 9B illustrate the movement of a vertical deflection spring, which engages the bottom of the card, as the carriage moves toward the solid line position of Figure 1, thus securing the card against the lips, which extend inside, of the lateral, stationary and mobile registration members; Figure 10 illustrates the extension of the push solenoid of Figure 1, used to cause the card to reattach with the third load rollers, once this card is returned to the load / unload position of Figure 7 , after a read / write procedure has been performed; and Figure 11 is a simplified top plan view of a portion of an alternative embodiment of the invention, in which the data head is mounted on the end of a pivot spleen, which causes the read / write head to pass to along a second arcuate path, as opposed to the second linear path of the modality of Figure 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES Figure 1 illustrates, in a relatively simple, schematic form, a data system 1, manufactured in accordance with the invention. This data system 1 comprises a data unit 2 and a substrate 3; this substrate 3 is preferably in the form of a card 3, the size of a credit card. The data unit 2 includes a base 4, which supports the various other components, a data head unit 6, which drives a data head 8 along a second path 10, a substrate or support assembly 12 of the card, which moves the card 3 or another substrate along a first path 14, and a feeder 16 of the substrate, which drives the card 3 to and from the support assembly of the substrate. The card 3 is preferably a thick ceramic core of 0.51 mm, of a walled construction, and upper and lower surfaces made of a suitable plastic material, of about 0.13 mm in thickness. Figure 2A illustrates the front or bottom side 20 (relative to the Figures) of the card 3, which has an embossed area 22 of letters and a back or upper side 24 of data, which has a region 26 of the surface of data, which extends between the first and second edges 28, 30 of the card.

Side 24 preferably includes a strip 32 of ferrous oxide, typically magnetic, similar to that used with conventional credit cards. The region 26 of the data surface is preferably a magnetic region and may also include ferrous oxide, as a magnetic material. However, due to the use environment, as will be discussed below, it is desirable that the region 26 be smooth and resistant to abrasion. This can be accomplished in several conventional ways, such as by electronic deposit with charcoal. In the preferred embodiment of Figures 2A-2C, only a portion of the side 24 is covered by the surface region 26 of data. In some embodiments, it may be convenient to cover most or all of the surface 24 with the surface region 26 of data. A directional arrow 34 may also be included to assist the user in the proper insertion of the card 3 into the entry 36 of the card, shown in Figures 1, 3, 4A and 4B. As illustrated in Figure 3, the opening 38 in the entry 36 of the card has an enlarged portion to accommodate the raised area 22 of letters, shown in Figures 2A and 2B. Figures 4A and 4B illustrate a portion of the feeder 16 of the substrate, which includes an inlet 36 of the card mounted to the front panel 40 of the data unit 2. The user begins the read / write process by inserting a card 3 into the opening 38 of the card entry 36, far enough to stop a light beam on a card sensor 42, which causes three sets of rolls 44 , 46 and 48 of feeding begin to rotate, as indicated by the arrows in Figures 4B and 5D. The feed rollers 44, 46 and 48 are driven by a motor 50 of the loading system through several pulleys 52 and the belts 54. Once the user pushes the card 3 sufficiently inside the unit 2, so that the first edge 28 of the card 3 is captured in the space between the rollers 44, the loading rollers automatically move the card 3 through the feeder 16 of the substrate, as is suggested by Figures 5A-7A. Figures 1, 5A and 5B illustrate the use of a magnetic strip reader 56, which reads, in a conventional manner, any information on the magnetic strip 32, as appropriate. The substrate feeder 16 also includes a counter-rotating cleaning roller 58. This cleaning roll 58 is not shown in Figure 1 for clarity. The cleaning roller 58 is used to ensure that the data surface region 26 is clean of particles and debris before starting access by the data head 8. The substrate feeder 16 also includes a reflection sensor 54, which detects the presence of region 26 of the data surface. If the card 3 does not have a data surface region 26, then the load rollers, 44, 6 reverse the address of the card and return it to the user with only the magnetic strip 32 having been read by the reader 56 of the strip magnetic Assuming that the card 3 includes a data surface region 26, the feeder rollers 44, 46, 48 continue the movement of the card 3 by passing the optical sensor 61 and towards the card holder 60 in the support assembly 12 of the card. card. An end 62 of the card holder 60 opens to allow free entry of the card 3 onto the card support surface 64 of this card holder. The surface 64 of the card holder and has an opening 66 formed through the middle of the surface, as will be described below with reference to Figures 9A and 9B. Referring now also to Figures 7A and 7B, the card holder 60 is seen to include a stationary side registration member 68 and a registration member 70 of the movable side. The members 68 and 70 have hanging lips 72, 74. When the card holder 60 is in the loading / unloading position of Figures 6A, 6B and 7A, corresponding to the position in dashed lines of the card, in Figure 1, the registration member 70 of the movable side pivots to its position of Figure 7A by engaging the lower end 76 of the member 70 with a stationary pin 78, which extends upwardly from the base 4. This allows the card 3 is propelled freely on the surface 64 of the card holder 60, between the registration members 68, 70. The initial movement of the assembly 12 along the path 14, towards the impeller 6 of the data head, causes that the registration member 70 engages a fourth edge 81 of the card 3 and urges the third edge 79 of the card against the registration member 68. The first edge 28 of the card 3 is urged against the stop edge 80 of the card. 60 support card by movi of the card holder 60 along the first path 14 towards the driver 5 of the data head, which is from the dashed line position to the solid line position of Figure 1. Such movement along of the first path 14 causes the second edge 30 of the card 3 to be coupled to an angled guide 82 of the card, which urges this card 3 completely onto the support 69, as shown in Figures 8A and 8B. The stop bode 80 has a dimension such that its upper edge 84, see Figure 6B, is slightly below, such as by 0.38 mm, of the upper surface 24 of the card 3, when this card is pressed upwardly to the lips of contact 72, 74 of members 68, 70 in the manner discussed below.

The support 60 of the card is mounted and carried by the carriage 86, this carriage can slide along a pair of guide shafts 88, these guide shafts are supported on the base 4 by the tree holders 80, only one of which is shown in Figure 1. The carriage 86 and thus the support 60 of the card with the card thereon, is driven along the first path 14 by a motor 92 of the carriage. The vertical movement or index of the card 3 is achieved by the use of a spring 94, C-shaped, mounted inside the carriage 86. An upper end 96 of the spring 94 is aligned with and passes through the opening 66, formed on the support surface 64 of the card and illustrated in Figure 6A. As the carriage 86 moves along the first path 14 from the loading / unloading position, which corresponds to the dashed line position of Figure 1, towards the impeller 6 of the data head, the spring 94 mounts towards a cam 98, which extends upwards from the base 4. This causes the card 3 to be oriented up against the lips 72, 74 and is held in place against movement not noticed during the reading operations / writing. Returning again to Figure 1, the card 3 is shown with the data head 8 in the "000" position of the track. This data head 8 is preferably the type of magnetic head contact, which contacts the region of the data surface, as the data head 8 is shown along the second path 10. The data head 8 mounts to the distal end of an arm 98 which is mounted to the carriage 100 of the head. This carriage 100 of the head is slidably mounted to a pair of guide shafts 102, these guide shafts are mounted to a motor mounting plate 104 by a pair of shaft fasteners 106. The motor mounting plate 104 is mounted, in an adjustable manner, to the base 4 by four uprights 108 of the spacings. The data head driver 6 also includes a read / write head motor 110, which drives a pulley 112 in the alternate directions clockwise and counterclockwise. The pulley 112 is coupled to the carriage 100 by an impulse band 114, which passes around a pair of roller bearings 116, as does the pulley 112. The position of the data head 8 relative to the region 18 of the data surface is provided by the rotary position of the pulley 112 and by a switch 118 of the sensor, which is detected by a pair of sensors 119. These sensors 119 are generally aligned with the edges 28, 30 of the card 3, when the card is in the read / write position of Figure 1.

The second path 10 extends beyond the first and second edges 28, 30, on the support surfaces 120, 122 of the data head. The data head support surfaces 120, 122 are generally coplanar with the region 18 of the data surface, so the data head 8 moves smoothly from the region 18 on the support surfaces 120, 122. of the support surfaces 120, 122 allows the data head 8 to move through the data surface region 18 at full speed. Preferably, the data head 8 decreases, stops and reverses direction and then accelerates for each subsequent step while on one of the data surfaces 120 122. During this deceleration, stopping and steering reversal, and acceleration, the carriage engine 92 has an opportunity to supply the card 3 with a track width along the first path 14. Therefore, over time, the data head 8 is ready to be re-coupled to the region 18 of the data surface, the next track, which may or may not be the adjacent track, is aligned with the second path 10 and thus can be read by or written by the data head 8 Support surfaces 120, 122 of the head are preferably low friction surfaces, suitable for the sliding movement of the data head 8 thereon. To ensure proper alignment, each data surface 120 is preferably provided with adjusters 124 of appropriate height. The gap between the surfaces 120, 122 and the card 3 is preferably sufficiently small so that the data head 8 travels smoothly in the gap. If necessary, a support can be supplied in the hole, for example, by a small jet of air. The data head 8 is preferably in a resting position on the data head support surface 120 or the data head support surface 122, when this card 3 moves from the on-line position in dashes to the data head. solid line of Figure 1. This keeps the data head 8 from the registration member 68 of the contact side, during such movement. Upon completion of the read / write operations, the carriage 86 moves to the loading / unloading position of FIGS. 7A and 10, where a push solenoid 126, see FIG. 10, is actuated to push the card 3 until it is captured between the third feed rollers 48. The push solenoid 126 has a plunger 127 which passes through a stop 128 abutting the edge 80 to engage the first edge 28 of the card 3. The feed rollers 44, 46 and 48, all rotating in the opposite direction, indicated in Figure 5B, drive the card 3 again through the opening 38 in the card inlet 36 to approximately that position shown in Figure 4B. During use, a user inserts a card 3 through the opening 38 in the entry 36 of the card, where the reader 16 of the substrate pushes it past the reader 56 of the magnetic strip, and to the reflection sensor 59. Assuming that the reflection sensor 59 detects the presence of the region 26 of the data surface, the rollers 46, 48 continue to drive the card 3 towards the support assembly 12 of the substrate. After the card 3 has passed the third loading rollers 48, the inertia of the card causes this card to continue to move on the support surface 64 of the card holder 60. To ensure that the first edge 28 of the card 3 abuts the edge 80 of the card holder 60, a guide 82 of the card is used to couple the second edge 30 as the card 3 moves from the loading / unloading position. of Figure 7A, which is the position in dashed lines of Figure 1, to the read / write position, which is the solid line position of Figure 1. The third edge 79 of the card 3 is urged against the member 68 of registration of the stationary side by the pivoting movement of the side registration member 70, spring-oriented, during the initial movement of the card from the position in dashed lines, to the solid line position of Figure 1. The continued movement of the card 3 towards the solid line position of Figure 1, causes the spring 94 to be oriented upwardly to urge this card 3 upwardly to the side edges 79, 81 of the coupling lips 72, 74 the registration card member 68, 70. Once the initial read / write position of Figure 1, the motor 110 drives the data head 8 from one of the support surfaces 120, 122 of the head data and the region 26 of the data surface of the card 3. In the preferred embodiment, the engine 110 is designed to cause the data head 8 to reach its desired speed of, for example, 318 cm per second by the at which time the data head 8 reaches the card 3. It is convenient that the information in the region 26 of the data surface be written at a rate of 36,000 bits per inch (14173 bits per cm) or greater. The density of the recording is determined by several factors, which include the uniformity in the movement in which the data head 8 passes over the region 26, the construction of the head 8, the construction of the region 6 of the data surface, the frequency of the read / write clock and other conventional factors.

At the end of each pass, while the data head 8 moves on the support surface 24 of the data head, during its deceleration, stopping, steering reversal, and acceleration, the card 3 is supplied to the next track position that is going to be accessed. If desired, the access of the tracks in sequence or particular can be selected, such as track 000, followed by track 023, followed by track 085, followed by track 031, etc. The organization of the recorded data on the region 26 of the data surface is largely dependent on the selected controller. The controller for unit 2 may be of a conventional type, such as that manufactured by Realtec of San Diego, California, and sold as product number TCNGE09. In one mode, 350 tracks will be used, each track with 56 sectors with 256 bytes per sector for a total of 5,017,600 bytes. When it is desired to remove the card 3 from the unit, the data head 8 is stationed on one of the two support surfaces 120, 122, and then the motor 92 drives the carriage 86 back to the loading / unloading position on the which point push solenoid 126 is actuated. The plunger 127, which passes through the gap 128 at the stop edge 80, pushes the card 3 until it is engaged by means of the third rollers 48, which at this moment are rotated in the opposite directions of the directions Figures 5B and 6B. The card 3 is then delivered to the user in substantially the position indicated in Figure 4B. In the preferred embodiment, the data head 8 physically contacts the region 26 of the data surface and support surfaces 120, 122. It may be possible to use a so-called flight head, in which the data head 8 does not contact the region 26 of the data surface. However, it is believed that the voids at the edges 28, 30 will create turbulence causing the flight head to crash on the region 26 of the data surface. Likewise, the invention has been described with reference to digitally encoded, magnetic data. If desired, the data may be analog in nature and may be optical or magneto-optical in character. Figure 11 illustrates portions of an alternative embodiment of the invention, with similar reference numbers being used with reference to similar elements. In this case, the data unit 2A uses an oscillatory data head 8A, which passes along a second arcuate path 10A. the data head support surfaces 120A, 122A are placed somewhat differently, but they provide the same service: the head of the data head 8A at each end of its movement. The sensors 119A indicate that when the data head 8 has passed from the data surface region 26A, so that data head 8 can begin its deceleration and the reverse acceleration movement, as the card 3A is graduated along the length of the data surface. the first path 14. Other modifications and variations can be made in the described embodiments, without departing from the object of the invention, as defined in the following claims. For example, the cleaning roller 58 can be replaced by, or supplemented by, an air vacuum head or an air nozzle under pressure, to remove debris from the region 26 of the data surface.

Claims (40)

1. CLAIMS 1. A unit of data, for use with a substrate, having a first and second edges and a data surface region between them, this unit comprises: a base; a substrate support, configured to support a substrate, mounted to the base, for controlled movement along a first path; a first and second support surfaces of the data head, placed at opposite ends of a second path and adjacent said substrate holder, said first and second paths are transverse to each other; a data head unit, mounted to the base, this data head unit comprises a data head, which can be moved reciprocally along the second path; and said data head, comprising a surface of the data head, which makes contact with the first and second support surfaces of the data head, as said data head moves along the opposite ends of the second path. .
2. 2. The data unit, according to claim 1, wherein the substrate support is configured to support a substrate in the form of a rectangular card.
3. 3. The data unit, according to claim 1, wherein the substrate support moves along the first path only.
4. 4. The data unit, according to claim 1, wherein the second path is an arcuate path.
5. 5. The data unit, according to claim 1, wherein the second path is a straight path.
6. 6. The data unit, according to claim 1, wherein this data unit comprises a substrate manipulator, this substrate manipulator comprises: a substrate feeder, configured to deliver a substrate towards, and remove the substrate from, the support of the substrate; and a substrate setter, configured to place the substrate on, and secure the substrate to, the substrate support.
7. 7. The data unit, according to claim 6, wherein the substrate feeder comprises loading rollers and at least one substrate cleaning roller.
8. 8. The data unit, according to claim 6, wherein the substrate support is configured to support a rectangular substrate, which has edges.
9. 9. The data unit, according to claim 8, wherein the substrate setter comprises side edge guides, mounted to the substrate holder and oriented to each other, so that a substrate placed between the edge guides, has its edges captured between them.
10. 10. The data unit, according to claim 9, wherein the substrate setter comprises elements for separating the side edge guides, when said substrate holder moves along the first track to a loading / unloading position, in order to allow a substrate to be freely mounted to, or removed from, the substrate support, when it is in said loading / unloading position.
11. 11. The data unit, according to claim 9, wherein the side edge guides comprise hanging lips, configured to overlie a substrate, when said edge guides engage said edges.
12. 12. The data unit according to claim 11, wherein said overlapping lips comprise oriented, generally coplanar, surfaces of coupling to the substrate with the support surfaces of the data head.
13. 13. The data unit, according to claim 6, wherein the substrate support comprises a first edge boundary surface, positioned to couple an edge of a substrate, in order to limit the movement of the substrate on the substrate support.
14. 14. A data system, according to claim 13, wherein the substrate setter comprises an edge guide, mounted to the base, which can be coupled with a second edge of a substrate, so as to move the substrate against the first surface of edge limit, as the support of the substrate moves from a loading / unloading position, in which the substrate can be mounted to, and removed from, the substrate support, to a position of use, in which the head of data moves along the second trajectory.
15. 15. A data system, which comprises: a substrate, having a first and second edges and a data surface region between them; and a data unit, which includes: a base; a substrate support, which supports this substrate, mounted to the base, for controlled movement along a first path; first and second support surfaces of the data head, placed at opposite ends of the second path and adjacent to the first and second edges of said substrate, said first and second paths are transverse to each other; a data head unit, mounted to the base, this data head unit comprises a data head that can be reciprocally moved along the second path; and said data head comprises a data head surface, which contacts said region of the data surface and said first and second data head support surfaces, as this data head moves along the data head. second trajectory.
16. 16. The data system, according to claim 15, wherein said substrate comprises outer layers attached to a center layer.
17. 17. The data system, according to claim 16, wherein the outer layers comprise plastic material and the center layer comprises a ceramic material.
18. 18. The data system, according to claim 15, wherein said data surface region comprises nickel-cobalt.
19. 19. The data system, according to claim 15, wherein said data surface region extends to both said first and second edges.
20. 20. The data system, according to claim 15, wherein the first and second support surfaces of the data head are generally coplanar with the data surface region.
21. 21. The data system, according to claim 15, wherein the data unit comprises a substrate manipulator, which includes: a substrate feeder, which delivers the substrate to, and removes the substrate from, the substrate support; and a substrate setter, which appropriately places the substrate on, and secures the substrate to, the substrate support.
22. 22. The data system, according to claim 21, wherein the substrate feeder comprises a sensor of the region of the data surface, for detecting said region of the data surface.
23. 23. The data system, according to claim 22, wherein the substrate comprises a magnetic strip region and the substrate reader comprises a magnetic strip reader, for reading the information from the region of the magnetic strip.
24. 24. The data system, according to claim 21, wherein said substrate support is configured to support a rectangular substrate, which has edges.
25. 25. The data system, according to claim 24, wherein the substrate setter comprises lateral edge guides, mounted to the substrate support and oriented mutually, so that the substrate is placed between the edge guides and has its edges captured between them.
26. 26. The data system, according to claim 25, wherein the substrate setter comprises elements for separating the lateral edge guides, when said substrate holder moves along the first track to a loading / unloading position, in order to allow the substrate to be freely mounted on or removed from the substrate support, when it is in said loading / unloading position.
27. 27. The data unit, according to claim 25, wherein said lateral edge guides comprise hanging lips, configured to overlie a substrate, when said edge guides engage said edges.
28. 28. The data system, according to claim 27, wherein the substrate setter comprises elements for orienting a substrate against the hanging lips, for positioning the surface region of the data to be generally coplanar with the accelerating surfaces.
29. 29. The data system, according to claim 21, wherein the substrate support comprises a first edge boundary surface, positioned to engage an edge of the substrate, in order to limit the movement of the substrate on the substrate support.
30. 30. The data system, according to claim 29, wherein the substrate setter comprises an edge guide, mounted to the base, which can be coupled with a second edge of a substrate, in order to move the substrate against the first surface edge limit, as the support of the substrate moves from a loading / unloading position, in which the substrate can be mounted to, and removed from, the substrate support, to a position of use, in which the head of the substrate Data moves along the second path and makes contact with the region of the data surface.
31. 31. A data system, which comprises: a data storage card, which has a data storage medium; a housing that includes a panel; an opening, formed in the panel, with a size for the passage of the card through it; a card holder, which can be moved between a loading / unloading position and a read / write position; a manipulator element of the card, to move the card between the opening and the card holder; a data head; and an element for moving at least one of the data head and the support carrying the card, in mutual relation, whereby the data head can read the data from, and / or write the data to, the storage medium , when the card holder is in the read / write position.
32. 32. The data system, according to claim 31, wherein the movement element causes the data head to move along pallete tracks, by the storage means
33. 33. The data system, according to claim 31, wherein the parallel tracks are curved tracks, of constant radius.
34. 34. A unit of data, for use with a substrate, having a first and second edges and a data surface region between them, this unit comprises: a base; a substrate support, configured to support a substrate, mounted to the base; a data head unit, mounted to the base, this data head unit includes a data head, which can be moved reciprocally along a second path; a stage impeller,. which moves, in a controllable manner, the data head unit and the substrate support, in mutual relation, along a first path; first and second support surfaces of the data head, placed at opposite ends of the second path and adjacent said substrate holder, said first and second paths are transverse to each other; and said data head, which includes a data head surface, which contacts the first and second data head support surfaces, as said data head moves along the opposite ends of the second data head. trajectory.
35. 35. A unit of data, for use with a substrate, having a first and second edges and a data surface region between them, this unit comprises: a base; a substrate support, configured to support a substrate, mounted to the base for controlled movement to a series of positions along a first path; a data head unit, mounted to the base, this data head unit includes a data head that can be moved reciprocally along a second path, whereby the data head passes along a series of parallel tracks, which correspond to the series of positions of the substrate support.
36. 36. A method for reading and / or writing data from / to a plurality of parallel data tracks on a substrate, this method comprises: placing a data head in a first position on the substrate; moving the data head along a first data track on the substrate, to allow reading and / or writing of data from / to the first data track; returning the data head to a second position on the substrate, spaced from the first data track; moving the data head along a second data track on the substrate, to allow reading and / or writing of data from / to the second data track; and causing said movement steps to be carried out so that the first and second data tracks are parallel data tracks.
37. 37. The method, according to claim 36, wherein the movement steps are carried out in a manner that the first and second data tracks are curved data tracks of constant radius.
38. 38. The method, according to claim 36, wherein the movement steps are carried out in a manner that the first and second data tracks are straight data tracks.
39. 39. The method, according to claim 38, wherein the repositioning step is carried out by moving the data head in a direction generally perpendicular to the first data tracks.
40. 40. The method, according to claim 36, further comprising moving the data head along extensions of the first and second data tracks, said extensions passing adjacent to the support surfaces of the data head.