IBM Assigned Fifteen Patents

Asynchronous asymmetry compensation for data read from storage medium
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,159,358) developed by Hutchins, Robert A., Tucson, AZ, for a “asynchronous asymmetry compensation for data read from a storage medium.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”According to one embodiment, a system for processing data includes a processor and logic integrated with and/or executable by the processor, the logic being configured to read data from a magnetic data storage medium using a read channel, detect and track positive peak amplitudes and negative peak amplitudes of a readback waveform during the data reading using a tracking threshold module, and perform asymmetry compensation on the data using an asymmetry compensator based on input from the tracking threshold module in an asymmetry compensation loop, wherein the asymmetry compensator does not rely on an input from path metrics in order to perform the asymmetry compensation. Other systems, such as magnetic tape drives, and methods for processing data, and specifically for asynchronously providing asymmetry compensation for data read from a magnetic tape, are described in more embodiments.“

The patent application was filed on July 14, 2014 (14/331,169).

Usage of state information from state-space based track-follow controller
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,159,347) developed by Bui, Nhan X., Tucson, AZ, Pantazi, Angeliki, Thalwil, Switzerland, and Taketomi, Tomoko, Kanagawa, Japan, for a “usage of state information from state-space based track-follow controller.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A method according to one embodiment includes generating track following controller state information based on a positional signal of a head relative to a medium. One or more portions of the state information corresponding to particular frequencies are used to determine at least one of: lateral tape movement, tape skew, vibration operation conditions, and roller performance.“

The patent application was filed on June 17, 2014 (14/307,286).

Protecting sensitive device from corrosion
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,159,341) developed by Bradshaw, Richard L., Tucson, AZ, Iben, Icko Eric Timothy, Santa Clara, CA, McKinley, Wayne A., and Randall, Lee C., Tucson, AZ, for a “systems and methods for protecting a sensitive device from corrosion.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A product according to one embodiment includes a tape having an applicator portion for applying an organic coating to a magnetic head for reducing exposure of the head to oxidation promoting materials; the organic coating on the applicator portion of the tape; and a lubricant on a data portion of the tape. A product according to another embodiment includes a tape having a data portion along a portion of a length thereof, and a cleaning portion along another portion of the length of the tape, the cleaning portion being for removing an organic coating from a magnetic head. A magnetic storage system according to one embodiment includes a magnetic head having a removable organic coating thereon in an amount sufficient for reducing exposure of the head to oxidation promoting materials.“

The patent application was filed on October 8, 2012 (13/647,210).

Tape volume access block having data set information stored therein
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,158,462) developed by Johnson, Gavin S., and Lynds, Jon A., San Jose, CA, for a “tape volume access block having data set information stored therein.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a processor and logic integrated with and/or executable by the processor, the logic being configured to write one or more data sets to a magnetic tape volume, the magnetic tape volume being configured to store data thereon, determine metadata corresponding to the one or more written data sets, and write the metadata corresponding to the one or more written data sets to a tape volume access block (TVAB) stored to the magnetic tape volume after a last written data set. In yet another embodiment, a method for managing a magnetic tape volume includes auditing a magnetic tape volume to determine a plurality of data sets stored thereto, determining metadata corresponding to the plurality of data sets, storing the metadata corresponding to the plurality of data sets to a TVAB, and writing the TVAB to the magnetic tape volume after a last written data set.“

The patent application was filed on January 9, 2014 (14/151,317).

Magnetic tape rewind overwrite data protection
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,153,246) developed by Stiarwalt, Randolph E., Tucson, AZ, for a “magnetic tape rewind overwrite data protection.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A method for preventing overwriting of data, e.g., on a magnetic medium, includes receiving a write command to write to a magnetic tape. A determination is made as to whether a current location of the magnetic tape is at a block at a beginning of tape. A determination is also made as to whether data corresponding to the write command is at least one of: a size and type specified for the block. Execution of the write command is disallowed when the data corresponding to the write command is not of the specified size and/or type.“

The patent application was filed on September 25, 2014 (14/497,223).

Tension transients suppression during acceleration and/or deceleration for tape drive
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,142,245) developed by Bui, Nhan X., Tucson, AZ, and Ogura, Eiji, Yokohama, Japan, for a “tension transients suppression during acceleration and/or deceleration for storage tape drive.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A method according to one embodiment includes receiving or determining primary velocity based on at least one of reading information encoded on a magnetic tape and a parameter associated with a motor of a drive mechanism. At a switching point, a reference velocity is made about equal to the primary velocity. After the switching point, the reference velocity is determined at various intervals. Also after the switching point, a value representative of a difference between the reference velocity and the primary velocity is determined, and a speed of the motor of the drive mechanism is adjusted for minimizing the difference between the reference velocity and the primary velocity. A system according to one embodiment includes a controller for controlling a drive mechanism, the controller being configured to perform the foregoing method.“

The patent application was filed on January 15, 2014 (14/156,118).

Encrypted tape access control via challenge-response protocol
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,141,819) developed by Bade, Steven A., Georgetown, TX, Dayka, John C., New Paltz, NY, Jaquette, Glen Alan, Tucson, AZ, and Guski, Richard Henry, Red Hook, NY, for a “encrypted tape access control via challenge-response protocol.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Access to encrypted data on a removable computer media such as a computer tape is controlled via a uniquely-structured header on the medium having a symmetrical key wrapped by asymmetrical encryption plus a public key associated with the asymmetrical encryption. The data on the medium is encrypted using the symmetrical key. Prior to automated reading of the data by a reader, a challenge is issued to a host system including the public key and preferably a nonce value. The host responds by signing the nonce using a private key associated with the public key in order to prove it has rights to decrypt the data. The symmetrical key is unwrapped using the private key, and finally the unwrapped symmetrical key is used to decrypt the data on the medium, thereby allowing automated reading of the tape data without the need or risk of two administrators sharing a symmetrical key value.“

The patent application was filed on November 8, 2006 (11/557,776).

Linear recording executing optimum writing upon receipt of series of commands
including mixed read and write commands
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,135,949) developed by Shiratori, Toshiyuki, and Taguchi, Kohei, Yokohama, Japan, for a “linear recording executing optimum writing upon receipt of series of commands including mixed read and write commands.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A method is provided according to one embodiment, which executes an optimum writing method even when overwrite is intervened between mixed read and write operations. In response to receiving an overwrite command while executing the mixed operations, which writes to a predetermined tape position, when a tape position to overwrite on is encountered before the append-written data ending position of the tape, (tape EOD), the overwritten tape position is regarded as the append-written data ending position of the tape, (tape EOD) to update the tape EOD by the overwritten tape position. When a tape position to overwrite is encountered after the append-written data ending position of the tape, tape EOD, the overwritten tape position is updated by the append-written data ending position of a non-volatile memory, (non-volatile EOD). The updating the EODs enhances the performance of the mixed read and write operations even when an overwrite command is intervening.“

The patent application was filed on December 10, 2014 (14/566,620).

Filled-gap magnetic recording head and method of making
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,135,931) developed by Biskeborn, Robert Glenn, Hollister, CA, Iben, Icko E. T., Santa Clara, CA, and Liang, Jason, Campbell, CA, for a “filled-gap magnetic recording head and method of making.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A filled-gap magnetic recording head is provided comprising a flat or cylindrical contour head having a row of magnetic transducers in a gap region disposed between a rowbar substrate and a closure. The gap region is intentionally recessed to have a predetermined recess profile below a tape support surface. An electrical insulation layer is deposited on the tape support surface and on the recess profile of the gap region. The insulation layer prevents electrical shorting between the magnetic transducers and other conductive elements in the gap due to accumulations of conductive debris from the magnetic recording tape. A method of making the filled-gap magnetic recording head by intentionally recessing the gap region, cleaning the recessed profile and depositing an insulator layer is provided.“

The patent application was filed on August 22, 2008 (12/197,002).

Backing up storage volumes in storage system
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,135,128) developed by Iwasaki, Norie, Fujisawa, Japan, Katori, Katsuyoshi, Miyoshi, Hiroyuki, Kawasaki, Japan, Nohta, Takeshi, Odawara, Japan, and Tosaka, Eiji, Tokyo, Japan, for a “systems and methods for backing up storage volumes in a storage system.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Systems and methods for backing up storage volumes are provided. One system includes a primary side, a secondary side, and a network coupling the primary and secondary sides. The secondary side includes first and second VTS including a cache and storage tape. The first VTS is configured to store a first portion of a group of storage volumes in its cache and migrate the remaining portion to its storage tape. The second VTS is configured to store the remaining portion of the storage volumes in its cache and migrate the first portion to its storage tape. One method includes receiving multiple storage volumes from a primary side, storing the storage volumes in the cache of the first and second VTS, migrating a portion of the storage volumes from the cache to storage tape in the first VTS, and migrating a remaining portion of the storage volumes from the cache to storage tape in the second VTS.“

The patent application was filed on April 22, 2014 (14/258,352).

Magnetic head having canted arrays
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,129,614) developed by Biskeborn, Robert G., Hollister, CA, and Lo, Calvin S., Saratoga, CA, for a “magnetic head having canted arrays.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”An apparatus according to one embodiment includes a magnetic head, the magnetic head having: a tape bearing surface having a first edge oriented perpendicular to an intended direction of tape travel thereacross, and an array of transducers in and/or adjacent the tape bearing surface, wherein a longitudinal axis of the array is defined between opposite ends thereof, wherein the longitudinal axis of the array of transducers is oriented at an angle relative to the first edge, the angle being between greater than 0.2.degree. and about 10.degree.“

The patent application was filed on May 1, 2013 (13/875,230).

Writing multiple files simultaneously to tape media
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,128,617) developed by Fujihara, Shinobu, and Oishi, Yutaka, Tokyo, Japan, for a “writing multiple files simultaneously to a tape media.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”In one embodiment, a method includes storing data received from at least two data sources in a buffer, writing the data from the at least two data sources to regions in a first wrap of a tape on a data-source basis in a first predetermined order, and writing the data from the at least two data sources to regions in the second wrap in a second predetermined order, the second predetermined order being a reverse order relative to the first predetermined order.“

The patent application was filed on March 26, 2015 (14/670,264).

Magnetic tape medium with magnetically encoded servo band bursts
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,123,354) developed by Cherubini, Giovanni, Engelen, Johan B. C., Furrer, Simeon, and Lantz, Mark A., Rueschlikon, Switzerland, for a “magnetic tape medium with magnetically encoded servo band bursts.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A magnetic tape medium includes at least one servo band along a longitudinal extension of the tape medium which at least one servo band comprises servo patterns organized in servo frames for supporting to determine positional information. At least one of the servo frames includes a first burst comprising at least two servo stripes inclined at a first angle with respect to a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal extension of the tape medium, followed by a second burst including at least two servo stripes inclined at a second angle with respect to a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal extension of the tape medium, which second angle is different from the first angle. At least one of the stripes of the first burst has a first magnetic polarity and at least one of the stripes of the second burst has a second magnetic polarity different from the first magnetic polarity.“

The patent application was filed on June 12, 2013 (13/915,885).

Writing data to recording medium
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,122,425) developed by Oishi, Yutaka, Kanagawa, Japan, for a “apparatus and method for writing data to recording medium.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”A distance calculating unit calculates a distance from a current position on a tape to the end of the tape. A command processing unit receives a write command. If the distance is small, a determining unit sets a usable capacity of a buffer to be equal to a maximum capacity of the buffer. If the distance is large, the determining unit sets the usable capacity of the buffer according to the distance. If a capacity for data indicated by the write command is less than or equal to a difference between the usable capacity and current usage of the buffer, a buffer managing unit stores the data in the buffer. When the command processing unit receives a write FM command, the buffer managing unit reads the data from the buffer, updates the current usage, and a channel input/output unit writes the data to the tape.“

The patent application was filed on April 8, 2009 (12/420,631).

Tape drive with overlapped operations
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,117,462) developed by Altknecht, David J., Best, John S., San Jose, CA, Hetzler, Steven R., Los Altos, CA, and McClelland, Gary M., Palo Alto, CA, for a “tape drive with overlapped operations.”

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: ”Embodiments of the invention relate to tape drive systems having overlapped operations. In one aspect, a system includes a head for performing read and/or write operations, a first set of motors for performing positioning operations on a first tape, a second set of motors for performing positioning operations on a second tape, and a processor and logic integrated with and/or executable by the processor. The logic is configured to cause the first set of motors to pass the first tape over the head while causing the second set of motors to perform at least one of a coarse locate and a rewind operation on the second tape. Additional systems and methods are also disclosed.“

The patent application was filed on June 28, 2013 (13/931,575).