JPH038034B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a magnetic tape device, and for example, to a recording and reproducing system of a magnetic tape device that exchanges information using a 12.7 mm magnetic tape as an information medium in a computer system. [Prior Art] An example of a method for writing information onto a magnetic tape (hereinafter abbreviated as writing) implemented in a conventional magnetic tape device is shown in FIG. 1 and will be described. Information written from a computer to a magnetic tape is
Generally, the information is provided to the magnetic tape device via a magnetic tape control device along with control system commands such as forward, backward, rewind, read and write commands. Further, these instructions and the information expressed on the magnetic tape are appropriately processed in the magnetic tape device and finally written as digital records on the magnetic tape. Now, in Fig. 1, 1 indicates bus out, and this bus out 1 means information to be written on the magnetic tape, and generally consists of 8 information bits and 1 parity bit, and contains information for 9 tracks. handle. The write command signal line 2 is a signal line that gives a command to the magnetic tape device to write information onto the magnetic tape, and the write inhibit signal line 3 indicates the tape running state of the magnetic tape device. This is a signal line that prohibits information from being written on the magnetic tape from the start until it reaches a certain speed, and specifies the recording modulation method, such as group coding (GCR) or phase modulation (PE). This is done by the mode designation signal line 4. In the device configured in this way, each of the write command, write inhibit, and mode designation signal lines 2 to
4, the write control circuit 5 supplies the write format (data block format) onto the magnetic tape to the write head drive circuit 7 through the write control signal line 6, and creates an accurate IBG (interblock key). (magnetic blank interval between data blocks). On the other hand, the write information is input to the write head drive circuit 7 via the bus out 1, and is given as independent information to the write head 8, which is composed of nine tracks. Information is recorded. Track number 1 and track number 9 of this write head 8 are track numbers recorded on the magnetic tape.
On a 12.7 mm wide magnetic tape, it corresponds to the track number specified in JISC6282 "Information recording format of magnetic tape for information exchange using phase modulation method". FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of a conventional reading system.The recording on the tape is read as a reproduction signal from a reading head (magnetic reproduction head) 9 consisting of nine tracks (track numbers 1 to 9). It will be done. Since the signal from this reading head 9 is generally weak, it is amplified by a preamplifier (preamplifier) 10 mounted as close as possible to the reading head 9, and its output is sent to the main amplifier 11. The output of 11 passes through a waveform shaper 12, a differentiator 13, and a zero-crossing detector 14, and then is input to a data generator 15.
6, the data is sent to the tape control device, and finally the data is sent to the computer. Please note that BUS IN
indicates bus-in (1 to 9 track data). However, the information transfer speed of 9-track magnetic tape is limited to 356 rows/mm even in the highest quality magnetic tape devices in practical use.
(9042 rows/inch), and the tape running speed is
5.08 m/s, the recorded transfer rate is 1808 km/s. This information transfer speed is becoming insufficient for the high-speed information processing of electronic computer systems. In order to solve these problems, magnetic tape devices are being considered to have higher recording densities, more tracks, and faster tape running. In addition, considering the physical properties and mechanical strength of magnetic tape, the tape running speed is not suitable for practical use.
It is currently thought that the limit is 5.08 to 6.35 m/s. Therefore, increasing density and increasing the number of tracks is proposed as a solution to these problems. The increase in speed will be considered separately, and here we will talk about increasing the number of tracks.In the case of increasing the number of tracks, the handling of information on the conventional nine tracks becomes a problem. It is desirable that the magnetic tape device is capable of reading at least the conventional 9-track information, and that the magnetic tape device has multiple tracks. [Object and Structure of the Invention] In view of the above points, the present invention has been made to solve such problems, eliminate such drawbacks, and satisfy the above requirements. A track arrangement consisting of 18 tracks is used for a 12.7 mm wide magnetic tape, and even when the recording method is the conventional technology, the data transfer speed is twice that of 9 tracks, and It is an object of the present invention to provide a magnetic tape device capable of recording and reading a conventional 9-track recording magnetic tape. To achieve these objectives, the present invention provides 12.7
A track arrangement consisting of 18 tracks is performed on a mm-wide magnetic tape, and input information consisting of 9 tracks is written (recorded) on 18 tracks. ,
It is read, edited as 9 tracks, and then output. It is also read on a magnetic tape recorded with conventional 9-track recording, and output as 9-track information, and the identification signal for 18-track recording is written on the magnetic tape. By writing and reading 18
This makes it possible to distinguish between tracks and nine tracks. [Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. First, before describing the embodiments, in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, the track format on the magnetic tape used in the magnetic tape device according to the present invention will be explained in comparison with the conventional 9-track format. Figure 3a shows a conventional track format (excerpted from JISC6282), and Figure 3b shows 18 tracks used in the present invention. In FIG. 3, 17a and 17b are tape reference edges, and these tape reference edges 17a and 17b are the tape side where the tape start reflective marker (BOT marker) is pasted on the substrate surface (back side of the magnetic surface) of the tape. It shows the edge. 9 tracks of the prior art (track numbers 1 to 9) shown in a, and 18 tracks of the present invention (track numbers 1 to 18) shown in b.
Since the dimensions of each center line are defined by the distance from the reference edges 17a and 17b of the tape, their errors are not clearly indicated. The dimensions are shown in Table 1.

【table】

[Table] In Figure 3, 1, 2, 3,...9 and 1,
2, 3...18 are track numbers, respectively, and the method of adding these track numbers is that the 9 tracks indicated by 1, 2,...9 in the prior art shown in FIG. The 18 tracks 2, . . . , 18 are also sequentially numbered from the tape reference edges 17a, 17b, respectively. Here, the basic idea is that for track number 1 of the 9-track recording shown in FIG. 3a, track number 1 of the 18-track recording shown in FIG.
and track number 2 of the 9-track recording shown in FIG. 3a, and track number 3 of the 18-track recording shown in FIG. 3b.
The track format is such that track number 4 corresponds to track number 4. Table 2 below shows the track correspondence between 18 tracks and 9 tracks.

【table】

[Table] The meaning of the track correspondence shown in this second table is to show the track arrangement positional relationship in the case of 9 tracks and 18 tracks as seen from the tape reference edges 17a and 17b, respectively, and for one track of 9-track recording. Therefore, 18-track recording is not functionally equivalent to 2-track recording. Each of the 18 tracks, like each of the 9 tracks, performs its functions completely independently. In the magnetic tape device according to the present invention, in the case of 18-track recording, the writing of the recording onto the magnetic tape and the reading from the magnetic tape are performed independently, but when reading the already recorded 9-track recording, Of the 18 tracks mentioned above, nine tracks are read with track numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17 (odd numbered tracks). Then, of course, read the 9 track records to the 18 track numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, etc.
14, 16, and 18 (even-numbered tracks) may be used, but since the position of track number 18 is farther from the tape reference edge 17b than the position of track number 17, the magnetic tape manufacturing The effects of insufficient tape width (but within the allowable tolerance) and damage to the edges of the tape (if the tape is normally placed in a carton and placed horizontally, the track number 18 side will be on the bottom, and in the case of 9 tracks, the track number 9 side will be on the bottom). Therefore, in the present invention, the method described above is adopted. In addition, in this FIG. 3, 18a and 18b each indicate data on the tape, and a.
W ₁ is the track width (1.09 mm or more), W ₂ of b is the track width (0.457 mm), W ₃ is the track spacing A (0.203
mm), W ₄ indicates the track spacing B (0.280 mm).
The arrow 〓 indicates the tape running direction. FIG. 4 shows a magnetic tape device according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the position of an identification marker signal indicating that recording is performed on 18 tracks and its section. In Fig. 4, the same numbers as in Fig. 3 indicate corresponding parts, L ₃₁ is 0 mm or more, L ₃₂ is 43.2 mm or more,
L ₃₅ indicates 12.7mm or more. And L ₃₃ is
5.994 mm, and L ₃₄ is 6.655 mm, which indicate the dimensions from the reference edge 17b of the tape to the center line of the identification mark signal C and the identification mark signal D, respectively. In order to distinguish these 18 tracks with track numbers 1, 2, . Here, both signals C and D correspond to track number 5 in the conventional 9-track recording (see FIG. 3a). In order to easily modify the conventional magnetic tape device to 18 tracks, the section definition for the tape start end reflective marker 19 of the identification signal is
It is stipulated the same as JISC6282-1980. Also,
The track width of both identification mark signals C and D is 0.457 mm, which is the same as tracks 9 and 10 in the case of 18 tracks. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an embodiment showing extracted parts related to the writing system in the magnetic tape device according to the present invention. In FIG. 5, the same parts as in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, and their explanation will be omitted. Bus out 1 is 9 track data consisting of 8 bits and 1 parity bit transferred from the computer system to the tape device via a magnetic tape control device (not shown), and is viewed from the tape reference edge 17b in FIG. 3b. 1 row vertically (other than GCR, PE and 9 tracks)
In NRZI, this means that data (corresponding to 1 byte) is continuously input to the magnetic tape device. The difference from FIG. 1 is that an 18-track write command signal line 20 is newly installed, and as a result, the write control circuit 5 outputs a signal to write 18-track recording on the tape via the 18-track signal line 21. It is configured to give the instruction to the recording distributor (data distributor) 22, and also sends the write data of track numbers 1 to 9 to the write drive circuit _7A of track numbers 1 to 9 via the data bus line 23. Also, the write data of track numbers 10-18 is provided to the write drive circuits _7B of track numbers 10-18 via the data bus line 24. Next, the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 will be explained. First, the recording distributor 22 uses a buffer memory (not shown) and a distribution circuit (not shown) to record the nine tracks that arrive via bus out 1.
The column distributes tracks to track numbers 1 to 9, the second column distributes tracks to tracks numbers 10 to 18, and the third column distributes tracks to tracks numbers 1 to 9.
The distribution procedure is such that the fourth column is distributed to track numbers 10 to 18, respectively. Next, the data bus line 2 from the recording distributor 22
3 sends the write data of track numbers 1 to 9 to the write drive circuits _7A of track numbers 1 to 9, and the data bus line 24 sends the write data of track numbers 10 to 18 to the write drive circuits of track numbers 10 to 18. 7 Send to _B.
Here, the write drive circuits 7 _A and 7 _B basically have the same function. As shown in the figure, two write drive circuits _7A and _7B (total 18 circuits) are prepared, and each of them records independent data on the magnetic tape for each track. On the other hand, the write control signal line 6 from the write control circuit 5
is the data write timing, GCR, PE,
These signal lines are used to send control signals for writing in each recording mode such as NRZI to the write drive circuits _7A and _7B, respectively, so that correct recording and data block formats are formed on the magnetic tape. Although this write control signal line 6 is omitted in the drawing, it is not a single signal line as shown. In this way, 18 track data are recorded on the magnetic tape. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an embodiment showing the parts related to the reading system in the magnetic tape device according to the present invention, and the same parts as in FIG. Reference numeral 9 denotes a reading head having tracks numbered 1, 2, 3, . Here, the main amplifier 11a, 1
1b, waveform shaper 12a, 12b, differentiator 13
a, 13b, zero-crossing detectors 14a, 14b, and data generators 15a, 15b are the main amplifier 11, waveform shaper 12, and differentiator 1 shown in FIG. 2, respectively.
3. They correspond to the zero-crossing detector 14 and the data generator 15, and have the same functions. Reference numeral 25 indicates an 18-track reading command signal line which is inputted from the outside when it is necessary to command 18-track reading, and 27 indicates an identification indicator signal C from the data generator 15a via the signal line 26a and the data generator 15b. A recording mode detector 28 detects the recording mode by inputting the identification mark signal D from the 18-track read command signal line 26b. an output data editing indicator controlled by
30 is a rectangular wave digital signal from the data generators 15a and 15b and an output data editing instruction device 28
This is an output data editor which takes as input a data signal sent from an output signal line 29 from an output signal line 29, edits 18 track data as 9 track data, and outputs the edited data to a bus input 31. Next, the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 will be explained with reference to FIG. 7, which is a diagram illustrating the operation of the recording distributor and output data editor. FIG. 7a shows a recording distribution mode (an example of 4-column recording) for converting 9-track information written on a magnetic tape into 18-track recording, and shows an explanatory diagram of the 9/18 conversion rule. Figure 7b shows the manner of conversion and editing when outputting 18-track records read from a magnetic tape as 9-track information (an example of 4-column recording).
Figure 7c is an explanatory diagram of the 18/9 conversion rule.
3, 5...17) shows the conversion and editing mode (2 columns of records) when outputting the 9 track records read as 9 track information, and shows an explanatory diagram of the 18/9 conversion rule. . First, the 18-track recording on the magnetic tape is reproduced by the reading head 9, which is composed of 18 tracks with track numbers 1 to 18. Then, this reproduced signal (analog signal) is transmitted to the amplifier (preamplifier) 1.
0a and 10b, and their outputs are input to main amplifiers 11a and 11b, respectively, where they are amplified until a sufficient S/N ratio can be ensured for signal transmission. At this time, in order to facilitate understanding, the read signals for track numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17 are the data flow shown in the upper part of FIG. , 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 have the data flow shown in the lower part of FIG. First, to explain the data flow of the upper track numbers 1, 3, 5...17, the main amplifier 11a
A signal at the required voltage level is sent from the preamplifier 10a to the preamplifier 10a. Here, since the track width is less than 1/2 of the conventional 9-track width, the signal amplification factor of the pre-stage amplifier 10a needs to be set to an amplification factor that fully takes this into consideration. The signal from the preamplifier 10a is further amplified by the main amplifier 11a to a signal with sufficient voltage for the waveform shaper (a type of filter) 12a, and its output is sent to the waveform shaper 12a. The waveform is shaped and the output is sent to the differentiator 13a.
The signal is sent to the zero-crossing detector 14a via the zero-crossing detector 14a. Furthermore, the output signal of this zero-crossing detector 14a is sent to the data generator 15a, where the analog signal is sent as a rectangular wave digital signal to the output data editor 30, and the bus input 3 as 9-track information is sent to the output data editor 30.
Output from 1. Here, since the signal processing method from the pre-stage amplifier 10a to the data generator 15a is basically a conventional technique and is generally well known, a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted. Then, the recording mode detector 27 receives the identification mark signal C in the case of 18 tracks, that is, the signal of track number 9 (see FIG. 4) via the bus signal line (identification mark signal) 26a of the identification mark signal C. When the magnetic tape is sent, it is detected that 18 tracks have been recorded on the magnetic tape, and an instruction is given to the output data editing instruction unit 28. If the magnetic tape being read has 18 tracks, this output data editing instructor 28 sends a signal via its output signal line 29 to the output data editor 30 to instruct the 18-track data to be edited into 9-track data. send. On the other hand, track numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12,
The read signals 14, 16, and 18 are sequentially sent as data from the preamplifier 10b shown below, and the output of the data generator 15b is sent to the output data editor 30. Then, from the lower data generator 15b, an identification mark signal D, that is, a signal for identifying 18 tracks from track number 10, is sent to the recording mode detector 27 via an identification mark signal line (bus signal line) 26b. , 18-track recording is identified as in the case of passing through the bus signal line 26a described above. Furthermore, if it is necessary to command 18 track reading from the outside for a special purpose, the output data editing command unit 28 is activated by a signal that arrives via the 18 track reading command signal line 25, and the output data editing command unit 28 is activated. The output data editor 30 operates. Here, the signal indicating that 18 tracks have been recorded to the output data editor 30 may be either the identification mark signal C or the identification mark signal D, and there is no need to use both; It would be better if it was unified. Next is the function of the output data editor 30, which converts 18 track data into 9 tracks as follows.
It is edited as track data and output to the bus input 31. That is, first, track numbers 1, 3, 5,
The first read data string sent from 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17 is placed at the top of the output side as the first output data, and the second output data is track number 2, 4, and 6. , 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 are placed. And the third track number is 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11,
The second record sent from 13, 15, 17 is placed as output data, and the fourth output data has track numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14,
Arrange the records sent from 16 and 18 as output data. Due to this regularity, 18 track data is transferred as 9 track data to a conventional magnetic tape control device (not shown) via bus-in 31. The conversion rules for 9-track information and 18-track recording on tape in the case of writing and reading in the above explanation are shown in Figure 7b.
Figure 7a shows the regularity when recording tracks.
Figure 7c shows the regularity of output as track data.
are shown respectively. First, FIG. 7a is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure for distributing information on 9 tracks to 18 tracks when information on 9 tracks is input from the outside to the magnetic tape device according to the present invention. In this Figure 7a, 1, 2, 3,...9 are 9
Indicates the track number of the track, 1, 2, 3,...
18 indicates the track number of 18 tracks. and,
32 is a bus out (BUS OUT), 33 is a column order of input (write) data, 34 is a recording distributor,
35 indicates the write record sequence order. In this Figure 7a, as an example, 4
This shows a case where nine columns of track information are input in the order shown in the input (write) data column order 33, and the recording distributor 34 reads the information in the order 18 as shown in the figure in accordance with the order of the input data. Record distribution and track placement are performed for track recording. Next, FIG. 7b shows how the 18 tracks read (played) from the tape recorded by the magnetic tape device according to the present invention are output as 9 track data via bus-in from the magnetic tape device according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the procedure of converting the data and editing the output data, taking as an example the case where a four-column record is read. That is, it is an 18/9 conversion rule. In FIG. 7b, the same reference numerals as in FIGS. 6 and 7a indicate corresponding parts, 36 is the reading and recording sequence order, and 37 is the pre-stage amplifier 10 shown in FIG.
a, 10b to data generators 15a, 15b, 38a, 38b are data buses, 3
9 is the data string order, 40 is the output data string order, 4
1 indicates rearrangement of output data. A portion 42 surrounded by a broken line indicates the function of the output data editor 30 (see FIG. 6). First, it is distributed over 18 tracks on a magnetic tape.
The recorded data is read by the 18 track head and converted into a digital signal as described above. And track numbers 1, 3 of 18 tracks,
Data of 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17 (hereinafter referred to as odd numbered tracks) are inputted to the output data editor 30 through the circuit shown in FIG. 6 described above for odd numbered tracks. On the other hand, track numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 of 18 tracks
The data of the even-numbered tracks (hereinafter referred to as even-numbered tracks) is input to the output data editor 30 through the circuit shown in FIG. 6 described above for even-numbered tracks. Next, the output data editor 30 (see Figure 6)
Arranges the input 18 track data as shown in the read record column order 36 shown in the figure. At this time, the number of the read recording column order 36 is rearranged as 9 track data, and the data is virtually arranged in the same recording state as it existed on the tape. Next, the nine track data arranged above are edited in the order shown in the output data string order 40 (rearrange the output data (see 41)), and are sent via the bus-in 31 in the order in which they were input to the magnetic tape device. The recording is transferred to a higher-level functional device, for example, a magnetic tape control device. Figure 7c shows a tape that has already been recorded on 9 tracks in the conventional method read by the magnetic tape device (18 tracks) of the present invention and output as 9-track data. This is an explanatory diagram showing the steps of conversion and editing up to the point where the 9-track data is the main one. In the 18-track magnetic tape device according to the invention, 9-track data is read on every track, and data passes through circuits for 18 tracks up to the data generators 15a and 15b (see Figure 6). In other words, the data of track number 1 of 9 tracks is
Track number 1 and track number 2 of 18 tracks
This means that the data of track number 2 of 9 tracks is read by track number 3 and track number 4 of 18 tracks, respectively, and the data reaches data generators 15a and 15b, and the data of other tracks are similarly read. It is. However, according to the present invention, the data of 9 tracks may be read by at least odd-numbered tracks of 18 tracks and output as 9-track data. In this case, the function of the output data editor 30 shown in FIG. 6 (portion 44 surrounded by a broken line) only needs to be activated to output the data of the odd numbered tracks of the 18 tracks. In this way, as shown in the figure, nine track data can be read and output by the magnetic tape device of the present invention. Here, for the 12.7 mm wide magnetic tape currently in practical use, the encoding method with identification mark signals is group coding (GCR: GROUP CODED).
RECOR DING) method and phase modulation (PE;
PHASE ENCODED) method, and the former GCR
The system specifies an identification signal on track number 6 of the nine tracks, and the latter PE method specifies an identification signal on track number 4. Note that these GCR methods are ANSI
Refer to X3.54, and refer to JISC6282 for PE method. These identification mark signals are sent to the recording mode detector 27 via the identification mark signal line (bus signal line) 26a, where they are identified as non-18 track recording information, and the instructions are sent to the output data editing. The data is sent to the indicator 28, which determines that the record currently being read is a non-18 track, and sends a signal to that effect to the output data editor 30. Here, the output data editor 30 outputs odd track numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11,
Only data 13, 15, and 17 are sent via the bus-in 31 to a higher-level functional device (not shown), such as a magnetic tape control device. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the track arrangement of magnetic heads in a magnetic tape device according to the present invention. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 45 denotes a write head, and this write head 45 is arranged in 18 tracks in the width direction of the tape, and the tracks are numbered sequentially from the tape reference edge 17 to 1, 2, 3, etc. ...18, and the gap not shown is the tape reference edge 1.
It is more vertical than 7. In addition, 1, 2, 3,...
18 indicates the track number. The width of this write head 45 is approximately 0.457 mm, and
The interval a is located approximately at the center of the conventional 9-track recording width, and its width is approximately 0.203 mm (hereinafter referred to as the intra-track interval). In addition, in conventional 9-track recording, interval b is placed approximately at the center of the track intervals, and its width is approximately 0.280 mm.
(Hereinafter, this will be referred to as the inter-track interval). The distance between the center line (not shown) of track number 1 of the write head WH and the tape reference edge 17 is set to approximately 0.406 mm (L ₁₁ ) in FIG. Since the magnetic tape runs in contact with the tape, it will wear out to some extent even if it is treated with anti-abrasion treatment, and this will damage both edges of the tape. Generally, the widths of the reference edge side tape edge damage prevention groove 47 and the track 18 side tape edge damage prevention groove 48 are recessed little by little from both ends in the tape width direction as shown in the figure. That is, the width of the magnetic tape, 12.7 mm, is wider than the approximately 12.548 mm spacing between the grooves arranged on the magnetic head. The center line (not shown) of the write track number 1 on the write head WH in FIG.
0.356 mm, which is approximately 0.05 mm shorter than the distance from the center line (not shown) of track number 1 in FIG. 3b from the tape reference edge 17 to approximately 0.406 mm (L ₁₁ ). In other words, the tape reference edge 17 is running in the air at a distance of about 0.05 mm from the surface of the magnetic head. Therefore, if the width of the magnetic tape is 12.7 mm, the cumulative track pitch of the write head 45 is based on the end of the groove on the tape reference edge 17 side of the magnetic head. The width is 12.548mm, which is narrower by about 0.152mm.
This is done in consideration of manufacturing errors in the tape. Furthermore, in general, when a magnetic tape device runs a tape on a magnetic head, fine adjustment in the width direction (tracking adjustment) is possible.
It is possible to position accurately. Then, the in-track interval a of the write head WH
The total width of track number 1 and track number 2 is approximately 1.118 mm, which is approximately 1.118 mm.
It is slightly wider than the nominal width of one track of the conventional nine tracks shown in Figure A, ``W ₁ =1.09 or more''. On the other hand, the reading head 46 on the reading head RH side is
The center of each track coincides with the center line (not shown) of each track of the write head WH, and the distance between the center line (not shown) of track number 1 and the tape reference edge 17, and the groove of the magnetic head on the tape reference edge 17 side. The concept of distance from is the same as in the case of the write head WH described above. The reading tracks are numbered sequentially from 1 to 18 from the tape reference edge 17 side in the same way as the write tracks, and the gaps (not shown) are perpendicular to the tape reference edge 17. Here, the width of the reading head for this reading head RH
W ₆ is approximately 0.356 mm, and the width W ₇ of the write head on the write head WH side is approximately 0.457 mm. Here, the width W ₆ of the reading head 46 is approximately 0.356 mm as described above, the interval between track number 1 and track number 2 (referred to as the interval A between reading tracks) is approximately 0.305 mm, and the width W 6 of the reading head 46 is approximately 0.356 mm. The spacing between track number 2 and track number 3 (referred to as inter-track spacing B) is approximately 0.381 mm. In FIG. 8, 49 indicates the groove edge on the reference edge side, and 50 indicates the groove edge on the track 18 side of the head. The arrow indicates the magnetic tape running direction. In addition, W ₅ is the tape reference edge 17 and the groove edge 4.
Indicates the width with 9. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram when reading a 9-track recording using 18 tracks. The data recorded on the conventional 9-tracks is read by reading head numbers 1, 3, and 1 of the 18-track.
5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17, the positional relationship of the reading heads on the tape in the tape width direction is shown in detail. In addition, in this FIG. 9, for the sake of simplification,
In the case of 9-track recording, the recording width of track number 1 and track number 2 is illustrated, and in the case of 18-track recording, read track numbers 1, 2, 3, and read track number 4 are illustrated. The data recorded on the nine tracks are shown as data 51 for track number 1 and data 52 for track number 2. On the other hand, the track numbers of the reading heads of the 18 tracks that read these data and the positional relationship of each track from the tape reference edge 17 are shown. In either case, the length of the data block to be illustrated in the running direction of the tape indicated by the arrow is not directly related to the description of the present invention, so its dimensions are not shown. In FIG. 9, 53 and 54 indicate the reading width of track number 1 and the reading width of track number 3 of 18 tracks, and 55 indicates the track number of 9 tracks. Further, each dimension is shown in Table 3 below. In addition,
Each of these dimensions is an approximate dimension.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, a track arrangement consisting of 18 tracks is performed on a conventionally used 12.7 mm (1/2 inch) wide magnetic tape, and writing is performed on the magnetic tape. Even if the recording method is a conventional one, it has twice the transfer speed of a 9-track recording method, and can also read and write data from a conventional 9-track recording magnetic tape.
The practical effects are extremely large.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 are explanatory diagrams of the conventional writing method and reading method, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the track format of the magnetic tape device according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an illustration of the arrangement of 18 track identification indicator signals in the present invention. 5 and 6 are block diagrams showing embodiments of the writing method and reading method used in the present invention. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the track arrangement of the magnetic head used in the present invention, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a mode in which 9-track recording is read by 18 tracks in the present invention. 5...Write control circuit, 7A, 7B...Write drive circuit, 9...Read head, 15a, 15b...Data generator, 22...Record distributor, 27...Record mode detector, 28...Output data editing indicator, 30...Output data editor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a magnetic tape device using a 12.7 mm wide magnetic tape, a track consisting of 18 tracks is arranged on the 12.7 mm wide magnetic tape, and a write command, write prohibition, write mode designation, and 18 track write are executed. A write control circuit inputs each signal of a write command and outputs a signal for writing 18 tracks on the tape, and a signal for writing 18 tracks and a 9 track record signal from this write control circuit. A recording distributor that takes input and performs predetermined distribution; and first and second write drive circuits that receive write data from the recording distributor and are controlled by a write control signal from the write control circuit. A read head for reproducing the 18 tracks recorded on the tape and a reproduced analog signal from the read head are provided so that input information consisting of 9 track information is distributed and recorded on 18 tracks. An output data editor receives the output from a data generator that converts the data into a rectangular wave digital signal and edits and outputs 18 track data as 9 track data, and an output data editor receives the identification signal from the data generator as input and detects the recording mode. and an output data editing instruction device that takes the output of the recording mode detector as an input and instructs the output data editor to read the data on the magnetic tape.
The 18-track record is read, edited as 9-track information, and then outputted. Also, a magnetic tape recorded with 9-track recording is also read and output as 9-track information, and the identification indicator signal of the 18-track recording is output. A magnetic tape device characterized in that 18 tracks and 9 tracks can be distinguished by writing and reading on the magnetic tape.