IBM Assigned Nine Patents

Magnetic tape medium servo pattern writing
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,830,943) developed by Cherubini, Giovanni, Engelen, Johan B. C., Furrer, Simeon, and Lantz, Mark A., Rueschlikon, Switzerland, for a “magnetic tape medium servo pattern writing method using single coil multi-gap write head.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A method for writing a servo pattern to a magnetic tape medium includes orienting a magnetic flux in opposite directions across gaps in the magnetic tape medium, and moving the magnetic tape medium with its servo band above two gaps in a direction along a longitudinal extension of the magnetic tape medium. The magnetic tape medium includes a servo band along the longitudinal extension of the magnetic tape medium and a servo pattern organized in a servo frame with a first burst having at least two servo stripes, and a second burst having at least two servo stripes. For at least one of the first and second bursts, different stripes within a same burst have opposite magnetic polarities with respect to one another. The method further includes applying a current pulse to the coil, moving the magnetic tape medium, and applying another current pulse to the coil.”

The patent application was filed on September 13, 2016 (15/264,358).

Columnar data storage on tape partition
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,830,104) developed by Kawamura, Kousei, Masuda, Koichi, Tokyo, Japan, Matsui, Sosuke, Higashimurayama, Japan, Oishi, Yutaka, Kawasaki, Japan, and Tsuda, Takahiro, Tokyo, Japan, for a “columnar data storage on tape partition.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A method for writing data from a table to a tape includes setting a number of partitions on the tape, where the number of partitions is greater than or equal to a number of columns of the table to be written to the tape, and writing data from each column of the table to at least one partition of the tape, the at least one partition including two or more wraps, the data is written from a top of the two or more wraps towards a bottom of the two or more wraps in a direction of a width of the at least one partition. The written data is reciprocated from a beginning of the tape to an end of the tape in a longitudinal direction of the tape such that writing of a last data entry of one column ends at a beginning of the two or more wraps.”

The patent application was filed on February 1, 2017 (15/421,463).

Writing file to plurality of media
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,830,102) developed by Hasegawa, Tohru, Tokyo, Japan, Itagaki, Hiroshi, Miyamura, Tsuyoshi, Yokohama, Japan, and Watanabe, Terue, Tokyo, Japan, for a “method of writing a file to a plurality of media and a storage system thereof.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “In one embodiment, a storage system configured for reading a file written to a plurality of tape media includes at least two tape drives and a read/write control. The read/write control is configured to load a tape medium into a tape drive, and read metadata from the loaded tape medium and determine from the metadata whether the tape medium is a parent tape medium or a child tape medium for the file. The read/write control is also configured to retrieve ID information on the parent tape medium from the metadata saved in the child tape medium in response to a determination that the loaded tape medium is a child tape medium, and load the parent tape medium identified by the retrieved ID information into another tape drive. Moreover, the read/write control is configured to read a written first file part based on metadata saved in the loaded parent tape medium.”

The patent application was filed on June 15, 2016 (15/183,558).

Recalling files stored on tape
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,830,085) developed by Hasegawa, Tohru, Tokyo, Japan, Itagaki, Hiroshi, Yokohama, Japan, Matsui, Sosuke, Mitsuma, Shinsuke, Tokyo, Japan, Miyamura, Tsuyoshi, Yokohama, Japan, and Yamamoto, Noriko, Tokyo, Japan, for a “recalling files stored on a tape.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “The time required for recalling the file is reduced when the file is written in a mounted plurality of tapes in comparison to recalling the file when written in a non-mounted plurality of tapes. In the non-mounted state, criteria does not typically exist in order to recall the written file within the plurality of tapes. Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for recalling files based on criteria which considers: the mounted state of a tape, the type of tape, the type of available tape drive, the number of files included in a tape, and the location of the written file in a tape.”

The patent application was filed on January 17, 2017 (15/407,277).

Tape cartridge identification
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,824,720) developed by Breuer, Marcus, Dalheim, Germany, Freitag, Bernd, Partenheim, Germany, Krick, Frank, Ockenheim, Germany, and Oswald, Tim, Gimbsheim, Germany, for a “tape cartridge identification.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “An apparatus includes a tape cartridge housing, an RFID chip attached to the tape cartridge housing. The RFID chip includes a tape cartridge ID and tape cartridge information, a time relay operably connected to the RFID chip, and external contact points configured to contact another RFID chip of another tape cartridge within the same tier. A method includes receiving a tape cartridge label read request including a position indicator corresponding to a location of a tape cartridge of interest, moving a tape cartridge gripper to the location indicated by the position indicator, activating a field coil on the tape cartridge gripper to provide power to an RFID chip on a selected tape cartridge, detecting information transmitted by the RFID chip on the selected tape cartridge, determining if the selected tape cartridge is the tape cartridge of interest, and activating a next RFID chip on an adjacent tape cartridge.”

The patent application was filed on September 16, 2016 (15/267,155).

Magnetic tape appliance with selectably always-leading head assemblies
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,799,365) developed by Biskeborn, Robert G., Hollister, CA, for a “magnetic tape appliance with selectably always-leading head assemblies.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A tape appliance includes first and second tape head modules, and a guide surface with first and second slots. The guide surface is configured such that the as the tape moves in first and reverse directions of longitudinal tape travel, the tape wraps about the guide surface, and at least two non-overlapping wrap positions of the tape engage the first slot, and at least one wrap position of the tape engages the second slot. When the tape travel is in the first longitudinal direction, the first and second tape head modules are positioned within the first and second slots, respectively, such that the first tape head module is the leading module. When the tape travel is in the reverse longitudinal direction, the first and second tape head modules are positioned within the first and second slots, respectively, such that the first tape head module remains the leading module.”

The patent application was filed on May 19, 2017 (15/599,589).

Accuracy tape bearing surface length definition process for tape head fabrication
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,799,355) developed by Biskeborn, Robert G., Hollister, CA, and Lo, Calvin S., Saratoga, CA, for a “high accuracy tape bearing surface length definition process for tape head fabrication.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “In one general embodiment, a method includes forming a slot on a tape bearing surface of at least a chip having a thin film layer with a plurality of transducers therein, the slot defining a skiving edge. A second operation is performed on the tape bearing surface of at least the chip for removing a portion of the chip positioned on an opposite side of the slot as the transducers. In another general embodiment, an apparatus includes a substrate, a thin film layer on the substrate having transducers therein, and a portion of a slot extending along the substrate, the portion of the slot defining a skiving edge. A length of a tape bearing surface between the substrate and the skiving edge is in a range of about 7 to about 30 microns.”

The patent application was filed on October 18, 2016 (15/297,002).

Mechanized take-up reel and method for loading and unloading tape storage medium
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,792,948) developed by Erpelding, A. David, Imaino, Wayne I., Labby, Ronald R., San Jose, CA, and Weaver, Winfield S., Gilroy, CA, for a “mechanized take-up reel and method for loading and unloading a tape storage medium.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Various embodiments relate to apparatuses and methods for loading and unloading a tape storage medium. In one embodiment, an apparatus for such purpose includes a mechanized take-up reel. The mechanized take-up reel includes an inner hub, an outer hub being selectively nonrotatably coupleable with the inner hub, (where at least one of the hubs is coupled to a rotating mechanism), a tongue coupled to the inner hub, and a slot in the outer hub for permitting the tongue to extend beyond a periphery of a tape engaging surface of the outer hub upon relative rotation between the inner and outer hubs.”

The patent application was filed on March 20, 2014 (14/220,942).

Skiving block for mitigating protruding defects from magnetic tape recording
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Armonk, NY, has been assigned a patent (9,792,947) developed by Biskeborn, Robert G., Hollister, CA, and Lo, Calvin S., Saratoga, CA, for a “skiving block for mitigating protruding defects from magnetic tape recording.“

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “An apparatus according to one embodiment includes a block having multiple skiving edges along a tape bearing surface thereof, and a guide mechanism configured to set a wrap angle of a tape approaching the skiving edge. A drive mechanism is configured to cause the tape to move over the block. The block has no transducer coupled directly thereto. A computer-implemented method according to one embodiment includes causing a magnetic recording tape to pass over a block having a skiving edge at a wrap angle of at least one degree for burnishing the tape, wherein the block has an average hardness of at least about 9 Mohs.”

The patent application was filed on April 20, 2016 (15/134,268).