Patent ID: 6754034
Filing Date: 2004-06-22
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
A system for recording and/or reproducing information, comprising a magnetic tape formatted with the aid of a magnetic write head, said magnetic tape being movable in a longitudinal direction (x) with respect to said magnet write head, said system including an apparatus comprising:a magnetic read/write head having magnetic read/write units for writing data tracks into a magnetic tape movable in a longitudinal direction (x) with respect to said magnetic read/write head; an actuator for moving said magnetic read/write head in a width direction (y) with respect to the longitudinal direction (x) of the magnetic tape, the magnetic tape being previously provided with a pattern of buried servo tracks (STn) by the magnetic write head, said buried servo tracks extending in the longitudinal direction (x) and alternately containing a different servo signal, said buried servo tracks including at least one group of juxtaposed servo tracks of a width (w1) and at least one servo track of greater width; and control means for generating a control signal for controlling the actuator, said control means receiving servo read signals originating from servo signals embedded in adjacent buried servo tracks and read by the read/write units of said magnetic read/write head, and processing said servo read signals in a processing unit to form said control signal for the actuator, wherein an amplitude of the servo read signal, as a function of a position of the magnetic read/write head with respect to the magnetic tape in the width direction (y), is substantially equal for all the read/write units of the read/write head, wherein each servo track of greater width comprises a set of sub-tracks including a signal-carrying sub-track and empty sub-track, the signal-carrying sub-track extends in the longitudinal direction (x) of the magnetic tape and has a constant width in the width direction (y) of the magnetic tape, the empty sub-track has a constant width and directly adjoins at least one signal-carrying sub-track and extends in the same direction as said at least one signal-carrying sub-track, each of the signal-carrying sub-tracks contains a servo signal of the same amplitude and phase, and each empty sub-track is substantially free from a servo signal.