Patent ID: 6236525
Filing Date: 2001-05-22
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
A servo track writer head for writing a plurality of servo tracks spaced across the width of a data storage tape as the tape moves along the head in a tape direction, each servo track written along a portion of the tape length, the servo track writer head comprising:a leading writer for each of the plurality of servo tracks, each leading writer operative to write a synchronization field on the tape at the same position in the tape direction as every other leading writer;a sequence of trailing writers for each of the plurality of servo tracks, each of the trailing writers operative to produce at least one trailing field on the tape, each trailing field to be written a fixed distance in the tape direction behind the synchronization field, each trailing writer at a particular location in the sequence of trailing writers positioned at the same distance in the tape direction from a selected leading writer as every other trailing writer at that particular location in the sequence of trailing writers;at least one timing writer, each timing writer operative to write a timing field on the tape at a timing distance in the tape direction from each of the plurality of synchronization fields; anda sequence of timing readers corresponding to each timing writer, each timing reader operative to read the timing field on the tape written by the corresponding timing writer, the number of timing readers in the sequence of timing readers equal to the number of trailing writers in the sequence of trailing writers, each timing reader at a particular location in the sequence of timing readers is located at the timing distance in the tape direction from a corresponding trailing writer having the same particular location in the sequence of trailing writers;thereby permitting locations of timing fields to be read and, hence, allowing the appropriate fixed distance behind synchronization fields for writing trailing fields to be determined.