A DEGAUSSING APPARATUS

Abstract: A degaussing apparatus for cancelling the magnetic bias of a magnetisable workpiece by applying a decaying sinewave degaussing signal to the workpiece (H) comprises a start switch for initiating the degaussing signal. A microcontroller circuit (20) is in electrical connection with the start switch and has memory and other registers capable of retaining and operating on instructions and data, and is capable of multiplying binary values, having output (P0.1 to P0.7) for sending output signals and inputs (P1.0, P1.2, P3.2) at least one of which (P3.2) is an offset indicating input for receiving input signals, capable of generating on the outputs a series of binary values, the linear plot of which is stair step approximation of a sinewave whose step height is variable in response to the instructions, and capable of centring the series of binary values about an offset value, responsive to a signal received by the offset indicating input. A digital-to-analog conversion circuit (30) has a digital input connected to the output of the microcontroller circuit (20) and analog outputs, the digital-to-analog conversion circuit in operation translating a digital input signal to a predetermined voltage level output signal. A current amplification circuit (60) increases the absolute value of the output signal of the digital-to-analog conversion circuit to produce the degaussing signal. An offset detecting circuit (70) has one input connected to ground, a second input connected to receive the degaussing signal and an output connected to the offset indicating input generating an offset indicating signal upon detection of a potential difference between ground and the degaussing signal.

Description: This invention relates to degaussing apparatus for cancelling the magnetic bias of magnetisable workpieces, for example, magnetic read/write heads used in data or other recording on magnetic media. During use,assembly, or due to changes in the ambient magnetic field, magnetisable workpieces may pick up a magnetic bias. When this occurs in read/write heads in magnetic recording systems, particularly high density data recording systems, there are several effects which may be deleterious to the performance of the system. One problem is that the recording characteristics of the head deteriorate when the head has a magnetic bias. Another problem is that a head used to follow high density data tracks may be forced by the bias to follow to one side or the other of a data track thus risking reading failure or misplaced writings. Degaussing as a practice is well known. One degaussing process consists of exposing the workpiece to an alternating magnetic field of decreasing intensity. Another degaussing process is to direct an exponentially decaying alternating current signal through the windings of the read/write head itself. This second process, however, requires rigid frequency and current limits in order to protect the head windings from unwanted damage. Due to environmental influences on the degaussing signal generating components themselves, a DC offset in the degaussing signal will often result. If this bias is not corrected the degaussing apparatus will bias the head. The present invention seeks to overcome these difficulties and provide a degaussing apparatus with the ability to change the voltage, frequency and decay parameters so that a range of workpieces, for example, magnetic read/write heads, may be degaussed without changing the circuit components, rather by merely changing the software. According to the present invention there is provided a degaussing apparatus for cancelling the magnetic bias of a magnet­ isable workpiece by applying a decaying sinewave degaussing signal to said workpiece said degausser apparatus being characterised by comprising: start switch means for initiating said degaussing signal; a microcontroller circuit connected with said start switch means and having memory register means capable of retaining instructions and data, capable of multiplying binary values, having a plurality of output means for generating output signals and a plurality of input means, at least one of which is an offset indicating input means for receiving input signals, capable of generating on the output means a series of binary values the linear plot of which is a sinewave, and capable of centring said series of binary values about an offset value, responsive to a signal received by said offset indicating input means; a digital-­ to-analog conversion circuit having digital input means connected to the output means of the microcontroller circuit and analog output means, the digital-to-analog conversion circuit, in operation, translating a digital input signal to a predetermined voltage level output signal on said analog output means; means for increasing the absolute value of said output signal of the digital-to-analog conversion circuit for producing the degaussing signal; and an offset detecting circuit having one input connected to ground, a second input connected to receive the degaussing signal and an output connected to the input means of the microcontroller circuit, the offset detecting circuit, in operation, generating an offset indicating signal upon detection of a potential difference between ground and said degaussing signal. Preferably, in operation, one of said microcontroller circuit output means is variable with respect to time under control of said instructions, to operate as a clocking input to said digital-­ to-analog conversion circuit for controlling the length of time during which an analog signal output will appear from the latter. The degaussing apparatus may include a conversion circuit connected to the output of the digital-to-analog conversion circuit and having its output connected to the input of said amplification circuit for shifting said analog signal by a predetermined amount. A limited bandwidth filter circuit may be connected between said conversion circuit and said means. Preferably the degaussing apparatus includes a continuity check­ ing circuit connected to said microcontroller circuit for detecting the occurrence of loss in continuity of the application of the degauss­ ing signal for the workpiece, and upon such occurrence, generating a signal to said microcontroller circuit indicative of such event. Said microcontroller circuit may have an output for initiating an alarm signal when the occurrence of loss of continuity of the application of the degaussing signal to the workpiece is detected, an alarm circuit being responsive to said alarm system. Preferably said means includes a degaussing apparatus characterised in that said means includes a current amplification circuit. The invention is illustrated, merely by way of example, in the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is one embodiment of a degaussing apparatus according to the present invention; Figures 2a, 2b and 2c are graphs of a portion of an exponentially decaying sinewave degaussing signal generatable by the degaussing apparatus of Figure 1 and Figure 3, through an oscilliscope lead; Figure 3 is a circuit diagram of another embodiment of a degaussing apparatus according to the present invention; and Figure 4 depicts one manner of connecting the output of a degaussing apparatus according to the present invention to a workpiece. Referring first to Figure 1 there is illustrated one embodiment of a degaussing apparatus according to the present invention. A microcontroller circuit 20 under the control of a switch (not shown) providing a signal on a line 11, is used to generate a series of binary values which are passed on a line 21 to a ditigal-to-analog convertor (DAC) circuit 30 to be converted to a sinusoidal voltage comprised of a fixed number of uniform voltage increments or steps per sinewave. The number of steps, the length of duration of the steps and thus the slope of the sinewave, and the amplitude of the drop from one step to the next and thus the sinewave amplitude, may be determined by software, i.e. instructions and data contained in memory registers of the microcontroller circuit, controlling the microcontroller circuit 20, whose signals control the output of the DAC circuit 30. This sinusoidal voltage is fed on a line 31 to a DC offset correcting circuit 40 to yield a zero volt value for the centreline of the sinewave signal. This signal correction is necessitated because of limitations in the available circuitry, that is a digital-to-analog converter circuit must operate on an input of some non-negative value. A corrected signal from the correcting circuit is passed via a line 41 to a filter 50 to eliminate noise and smooth the sinewave and then it is fed on a line 51 to a current amplifier 60. An amplified output from the amplifier 60 is sent on a line 61 to a workpiece (not shown) such as a read/write head via a probe. The amplified output is also forwarded on a line 62 to an offset detector 70 which will pick up and forward information about any DC offset on a line 71 to the microcontroller circuit 20 which will adjust its output in response to this information. This adjustment is under software control. A continuity checking circuit 90 senses when the probe has lost contact with the workpiece and passes this information to the microcontroller circuit 20, which may then alert an alarm circuit 80 to generate an alarm. Referring now to Figure 3 another embodiment of a degaussing apparatus according to the present invention is shown. A micro­ controller circuit 120 may be an Intel 8751H microprocessor chip produced by Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, California. This particular chip is employed for its parallel output ports P, which provide for fast and matching inputs to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuit 130 and for its ability to perform hardware multiply instructions. Without this ability, no microprocessor chip could perform the calculations necessary to generate the sinewave voltage levels used in degaussing within the limited time available. The microcontroller circuit 120 is loaded with a software routine (i.e. instructions and data are contained in memory registers (not shown)) which resets an initiation switch 111 and waits for the switch to be thrown, whereupon it will run another subroutine to find a DC offset correction factor required by the microcontroller circuit 120 so that the bias of a resultant sinewave degaussing signal will be eliminated. The routine used to find this DC offset correction factor first sends a signal over port P0 (including ports P0.0 to P0.7) which signal represents a voltage value higher than the normal zero value, say 200 mv. The actual value of the voltage used is not to be so high that it may burn out, for example, head windings of a workpiece such as a read/write head, nor so low that it is under the potential value of the offset. The incremental voltage value addressable by the DAC circuit 130 used in this embodiment is 40 mv, which means that it can produce a shift up or down in voltage of 40 mv in response to a change in the smallest bit value across the eight input lines which correspond to ports P1.0 to P1.7. In the next step, the DAC circuit 130 will generate an analog voltage value which corresponds to the input signal, with an operational amplifier 132 making the differential to single line conversion. Because the output of the DAC circuit on a line 131 is shifted 5 volts above zero, an operational amplifier 140 is used to re-centre the sinewave output on zero volts. In this embodiment the DAC circuit 130 is a National Semiconductor Corporation DAC chip 0830. A filter 150 (in this embodiment an AF 100-2CJ chip of National Semiconductor Corporation is employed, but others could be used) receives a signal on the line 141 from the operational amplifier 140. This is to smooth the staircase-step shape of the sinewave which results form the incremental nature of the output of the DAC circuit 130. Figure 2a represents the smoothed waveform which would appear on an oscilliscope screen attached at the line 51 of Figure 1 or a line 151 of Figure 3. In contrast Figure 2b shows the signal produced by the DAC circuit as seen at the line 31 of Figure 1 or the line 131 of Figure 3. The signal shown in Figure 2b is the same signal, unshifted, which is also seen at lines 41 and 141 of Figures 1 and 3, respectively. The signal on the line 151 is then current amplified by an amplification circuit 160 and the resulting amplified sinewave signal is the degaussing signal sent on a line 175 to a probe 12 (Figure 4) which makes electrical contact 13 with windings 16 of the the workpiece H, e.g. a read/write head, by means of a wire lead 15 which may be on the surface of a structure such as a flexcable 14. Any other method for connecting the degaussing signal to a coil around a workpiece could be employed but the illustration in Figure 4 is given because it is expected that the accuracy in signal production produced by the degaussing apparatus according to the present invention will be most applicable to magnetic read/write heads which are used in high density magnetic storage devices. The degaussing signal on the line 151 is available as a positive input 173 to an operational amplifier 170. A negative input 174 to the operation amplifier 170 is from the system or reference ground 172. The operational amplifier 170 provides a HIGH signal to port P1.0 of the microcontroller circuit 120, for any time that the voltage on the input 173 exceeds (by a certain minimum) that of the reference ground 172. When these two voltages are equal, the microcontroller circuit 120 (under the control of the subroutine determining the DC offset correction factor mentioned above) will store the value it has output to get that HIGH as the value it must have on the ports P in order to produce zero voltage output from the DAC circuit 130. The ports P3.2 and P1.7 of the microcontroller circuit 120, provide input to and output from a continuity checking circuit 190. There are, no doubt, other arrangements which could work equally well to provide an indicator for response to loss of continuity, but this is the arrangement provided for by the illustrated embodiment of the present invention. This preferred embodiment uses a 9602 integrated circuit chip 198 manufactured by National Semiconductor Corporation, which is set to be retriggerable, with an output pulsewidth of 1.5 times the width of the degaussing signal. Since the occurrence of a loss of continuity would yield an open circuit from the line 175 to the probe, the voltage on each side of a resistor 191 will be equal. This will cause a like signal to be generated by operational amplifiers 194, 195, thus signalling a sensing circuit 196 to stop its continuous square wave retriggering output to the chip 198. Thus the output of the chip 198 falls to zero whenever a sinewave peak is missing when it needs to be retriggerred, thereby "alerting" the microcontroller circuit 120. The micro­ controller circuit 120 will then shut down production of the degaussing signal and provide a signal on its port P1.5 to initiate an alarm circuit 180 and associated alarm (not shown). It is to be noted that the port numbers are given for illustrative purposes only and that with different integrated circuit chips or even with different programs loaded into the same chip as in the circuit illustrated, diff"rent numbers may obviously be appropriate. It will be appreciated from Figure 2 that the sinewave generated on the line 131 (or on the line 31 with reference to Figure 1) is in the form of a rising and falling staircase. The length of the horizontal portions of the steps are determined by the length of time the DAC circuit 130 is "clocked" by the microcontroller circuit 120, before it determines that it is ready to have the DAC circuit 130 receive the next signal from ports P1.0 to P1.7. This is controlled by the port P3.6 (pin 16 ) and the value may be set by software in the microcontroller circuit 120. This is because the DAC circuit 130 reads ports P0.0 to P0.7 each time a positive to negative transition occurs on the ports P3.2 and P3.6 ( lines, pins 2 and 16). Port (pin 1) of the DAC circuit 130 must be low and Port ILE (pin 18) must be HIGH during the "clocking" transition. The DAC circuit puts out a DC level which corresponds to the binary value that it received during the clocking transition. The DAC circuit will hold that value at its output until a new clocking transition is received, allowing it to receive the next binary value on the bus and generate a new corresponding DC level in response. Because the horizontal step lengths are equivalent to the length of time between clocking transitions, the overall frequency of the sinewave is determined by the length of this clocking type transition. Again, the "clocking" transitions are determined by software commands in the microcontroller circuit 120 which commands change the "clock" width (leading edge to leading edge interval) sent to pins 2 and 18 of the DAC circuit 130. When the length of the step is increased, the time to run each cycle of the sinewave is increased, and vice-versa. The size of the potential difference between each step and thus the height or amplitude of the sinewave may also be readily changed by software within the microcontroller circuit 120, and thus the height of the sinewave may be varied. The sinewave is generated by reference to a set of value points, each representing an equal incremental division of 2π radians. In the preferred embodiment 64 value points are used, 32 on the positive side of the sinewave and 32 on the negative. Even with an electronic set up identical to that illustrated for the preferred embodiment, the number of points may be varied under software control, since they only exist in a table resident in the memory registers of the microcontroller circuit 120. Where the number of points remains constant, changing the size of the increment between each step changes the overall height of the wave. Thus, instead of an output from ports P being incrementally increased by single binary "1" (yielding a 40 mv change in height) at each "clocking" of the DAC circuit, a jump of binary "2" or more would result in an incremental change of 80 or more millivolts, therefore yielding an average steeper gradient or slope for a constant step length, and taller overall height for a constant number of points. Thus, by varying the software of a microcontroller circuit having hardware multiply capabilities, the preferred embodiment of the present invention can produce numerous accurate variations in the degaussing signal and so be responsive to variable degaussing requirements and environments.

Claims: 1. A degaussing apparatus for cancelling the magnetic bias of a magnetisable workpiece by applying a decaying sinewave degaussing signal to said workpiece (H), said degausser apparatus being characterised by comprising: start switch means for initiating said degaussing signal; a microcontroller circuit (20,120) connected with said start switch means and having memory register means capable of retaining instructions and data, capable of multiplying binary values, having a plurality of output means (P0.1 to P0.7) for sending output signals and a plurality of input means (P1.0, P1.2, P3.2), at least one (P3.2) of which is an offset indicating input means for receiving input signals, capable of generating on the output means a series of binary values the linear plot of which is a stair step approximation of a sinewave, whose step height is variable in response to said instructions, and capable of centring said series of binary values about an offset value, responsive to a signal received by said offset indicating input means; a digital-­ to-analog conversion circuit (30,130) having digital input means connected to the output means of the microcontroller circuit, and analog output means, the digital-to-analog conversion circuit, in operation, translating a digital input signal to a predetermined voltage level output signal on said analog output means; means (60,160) for increasing the absolute value of said output signal of the digital-to-analog conversion circuit for producing the degaussing signal; and an offset detecting circuit (70,170) having one input connected to ground, a second input connected to receive the degaussing signal and an output (71) connected to the input means (P1.0) of the microcontroller circuit, the offset detecting circuit, in operation, generating an offset indicating signal upon detection of a potential difference between ground and said degaussing signal. 2. A degaussing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that, in operation, one of said microcontroller circuit output means is variable with respect to time under control of said instructions, to operate as a clocking input to said digital-­ to-analog conversion circuit for controlling the length of time during which an analog signal output will appear from the latter. 3. A degaussing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2 characterised by including a conversion circuit (40,140) connected to the output of the digital-to-analog conversion circuit and having its output connected to the input of said amplification circuit for shifting said analog signal by a predetermined amount. 4. A degaussing apparatus as claimed in claim 3 characterised by including a limited bandwidth filter circuit (50,150) connected between said conversion circuit (40,140) and said (60,160). 5. A degaussing apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim characterised by including a continuity checking circuit connected to said microcontroller circuit for detecting the occurrence of loss in continuity of the application of the degaussing signal to the workpiece, and upon such occurrence, generating a signal to said microcontroller circuit indicative of such event. 6. A degaussing apparatus as claimed in claim 5 characterised in that said microcontroller circuit has an output for initiating an alarm signal when the occurrence of loss of continuity of the application of the degaussing signal to the workpiece is detected, an alarm circuit being responsive to said alarm system. 7. A degaussing apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim characterised in that said means (60,160) includes a current amplification circuit.

Inventors: CHANNEL, WILLIAM DEANE, GUNTER III, CHARLIE E.
Applicants: MAGNETIC PERIPHERALS INC.
Application year: 1986
Main classification: H01F13
IPC codes: G11B5, H01F13