Tape driver, tape unit equipment and storage system

Abstract

The invention discloses a magnetic tape driver, magnetic tape unit equipment and a storage system, and relates to the technical field of magnetic tapes. In the tape driver, a magnetic head body is positioned on one side of a base, and the magnetic head body comprises a first group of read-write magnetic heads, a first spacing part and a second group of read-write magnetic heads which are arranged side by side along the extension direction of the magnetic head body. The two sets of read-write heads may be used to access different data bands in the tape during use of the tape drive. As the data tape accessed by one group of read-write magnetic heads does not need to be repeatedly accessed by the other group of read-write magnetic heads, the moving distance corresponding to the width of at least one data tape in the magnetic tape can be reduced in the process of moving the magnetic head body from the bottom of the magnetic tape to the top of the magnetic tape along the width direction of the magnetic tape; the magnetic head stroke height of the magnetic head body and the thickness of magnetic tape unit equipment to which the magnetic tape driver belongs are reduced, and the space utilization rate of the magnetic tape unit and the capacity density of the storage space are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of magnetic tape technology, and in particular to a magnetic tape drive, a magnetic tape device and a storage system. Background Art

[0002] A tape drive is a single-drive product, including a tape drive and a tape. A tape drive usually reads and writes data by sliding the tape on the header in the tape drive. The thickness of a tape drive is related to the head stroke height and the thickness of the tape drive housing. The head stroke height is the sum of the height of the head body and the maximum moving distance of the head body during data access. Taking linear tape open (LTO) as an example, the tape width in an LTO tape drive is about 12.7 mm, and the tape includes 4 data bands, and the effective access width of each data band is 3 mm. To avoid damage to the tape, even when the head is moving up and down, it is necessary to ensure that the head can cover the width of the tape, such as the height of the head body is about 27 mm, and the height of the read / write head in the head body is about 3 mm. Furthermore, the thickness of the tape drive reaches nearly 40 mm, but the thickness of the effective storage space in the tape drive is only 12.7 mm, resulting in low space utilization of the tape drive and low capacity density of the storage space. Summary of the invention

[0003] The present application provides a tape drive, a tape drive device and a storage system, which solve the problem of low space utilization of the tape drive and low capacity density of the storage space.

[0004] In a first aspect, the present application provides a magnetic tape drive. The magnetic tape drive comprises: a magnetic head body and a base. The magnetic head body is located on one side of the base, and the magnetic head body comprises: a first group of read-write magnetic heads, a first spacer, and a second group of read-write magnetic heads arranged side by side along a first direction, and the first direction is the extension direction of the magnetic head body. Each group of read-write magnetic heads comprises a read head and a write head.

[0005] During use of the tape drive, the two sets of read and write heads are used to access different data bands on the tape.

[0006] Since the data band that has been accessed by one group of read-write heads does not need to be repeatedly accessed by another group of read-write heads, the moving distance corresponding to the width of at least one data band in the tape can be reduced in the process of the head body moving from the bottom to the top of the tape along the width direction of the tape, thereby reducing the moving distance of the head body during the data access process when the height of the head body remains unchanged, which is conducive to reducing the head stroke height of the head body. In addition, considering that along the extension direction (first direction) of the head body, the height of the head body needs to be greater than the width of the tape, and the head body includes two groups of read-write heads arranged side by side, therefore, during the data access process, one of the two groups of read-write heads can be located at the edge data band along the width direction of the tape, and the height of the head body can also be lower than the height of the head body with only one group of read-write heads, which is conducive to further reducing the head stroke height of the head body. When the head stroke height of the head body is reduced, the thickness of the tape drive device to which the tape drive belongs can be made lower, which is conducive to improving the space utilization rate of the tape drive and the capacity density of the storage space.

[0007] In an optional implementation, the width of the first spacer matches the width of one or more data strips. Exemplarily, when the first set of read / write heads and the second set of read / write heads respectively access two data strips separated by a width of a data strip, the width of the first spacer is consistent with or close to the width of the data strip.

[0008] In an optional implementation, the head body further includes: a second spacer, arranged side by side with the second group of read-write heads along the first direction; a third group of read-write heads, arranged side by side with the aforementioned first group of read-write heads along the first direction, and the second spacer is located between the third group of read-write heads and the second group of read-write heads, and the projections of the third group of read-write heads and the second group of read-write heads in the second direction do not overlap, and the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction. Exemplarily, the third group of read-write heads and the aforementioned first group of read-write heads and second group of read-write heads are arranged side by side along the first direction, and the head body can reduce the moving distance corresponding to the width of at least two data bands in the tape during the movement from the bottom of the tape to the top along the width direction of the tape, thereby reducing the moving distance of the head body during data access when the height of the head body remains unchanged, which is conducive to reducing the head stroke height of the head body.

[0009] In an optional implementation, the tape drive further includes: a control component. The control component includes a selection switch, and the selection switch includes a first selection interface and a second selection interface; wherein the first selection interface is connected to the first group of read-write heads, and the second selection interface is connected to the second group of read-write heads. The control component uses the electrical signal transmitted by the first selection interface or the second selection interface as a valid electrical signal. During the use of the tape drive, the control component uses the electrical signal transmitted by one group of read-write heads in the first group of read-write heads or the second group of read-write heads as a valid electrical signal, which helps to avoid mutual interference of electrical signals between other read-write heads in two groups of read-write heads or more groups of read-write heads, so that the tape drive can accurately access the data in the tape.

[0010] In an optional implementation, the control component also includes: a preamplifier circuit, an analog-to-digital conversion circuit, a signal processing circuit and a drive circuit. The preamplifier circuit is connected to the third interface of the selection switch and amplifies the effective electrical signal to obtain the electrical signal to be processed. The analog-to-digital conversion circuit is connected to the preamplifier circuit and converts the electrical signal to be processed to obtain a digital signal. The signal processing circuit is connected to the analog-to-digital conversion circuit and receives the digital signal. The signal processing circuit is also used to generate a control signal and send the control signal to the drive circuit. The drive circuit is connected to the signal processing circuit and switches the selection interface included in the control component according to the control signal. The control component processes the effective electrical signal transmitted by one group of read-write heads in the multiple groups of read-write heads, that is, the control component is used to realize the switching (selection) of the electrical signals transmitted by the multiple groups of read-write heads, thereby avoiding the electrical signals between the other read-write heads in the two groups of read-write heads or more groups of read-write heads from interfering with each other, so that the tape drive can accurately access the data in the tape.

[0011] In a second aspect, the present application provides a tape drive device. The tape drive device includes: a tape and a tape drive. The tape drive may refer to the tape drive in the first aspect or any optional implementation of the first aspect. The tape drive is used to access data in the tape, and the tape is used to store data. Since the tape drive device includes the tape drive in the first aspect or any implementation of the first aspect, the tape drive device can also achieve the beneficial effects in the first aspect or any implementation of the first aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0012] In an optional implementation, the magnetic tape is fixedly sealed in the above-mentioned tape drive device. In this way, the magnetic tape will not directly contact the air, liquid, dust and other media outside the tape drive device, which is conducive to reducing the loss of magnetic powder or other magnetic media used to store data in the magnetic tape, thereby increasing the service life of the magnetic tape.

[0013] In an optional implementation, the magnetic tape in the magnetic tape drive device includes: a plurality of data bands arranged side by side along the length direction of the magnetic tape, and the plurality of data bands include: a first data band and a second data band. The projection of the first group of read-write heads on the first data band is located within the area of ​​the first data band; the projection of the second group of read-write heads on the second data band is located within the area of ​​the second data band. During data access, two groups of read-write heads are arranged side by side along the extension direction of the head body, and different groups of read-write heads are used to access data stored in different data bands in the magnetic tape, so that in the process of the head body moving from the bottom to the top of the magnetic tape along the width direction of the magnetic tape, the moving distance corresponding to the width of at least one data band in the magnetic tape can be reduced. Also, considering that along the extension direction of the head body (the first direction), the height of the head body needs to be greater than the width of the magnetic tape, and the head body includes two groups of read-write heads arranged side by side, therefore, during data access, one of the two groups of read-write heads only needs to be at the edge data band along the width direction of the magnetic tape, and the height of the head body can also be lower than the height of the head body having only one group of read-write heads, which is beneficial to further reduce the head stroke height of the head body.

[0014] In an optional scenario, the first data band and the second data band are two adjacent data bands included in a plurality of data bands in a magnetic tape.

[0015] In another optional scenario, there are multiple data bands including m data bands between the first data band and the second data band, where m is a positive integer, such as 1, 2 or other values.

[0016] In an optional implementation, along the extension direction (or height direction) of the head body, the width of the magnetic tape is 12mm-15.7mm, and the height of the head body is 15.7mm-21mm. Compared with the height of the head body of 27mm in the conventional technology, in the implementation provided by the present application, by arranging multiple groups of read-write heads in the head body, the height of the head body can be reduced, thereby reducing the head stroke height of the head body, which is conducive to reducing the thickness of the tape drive device.

[0017] In an optional implementation, the thickness of the tape drive device is 20.7 mm-26 mm.

[0018] In a third aspect, the present application provides a storage system. The storage system includes: one or more tape drive devices provided by any implementation in the second aspect, for storing data. And a controller, for managing the tape drive device, such as accessing the tape drive device according to a data access request. Exemplarily, the controller receives a data access request from a host, and accesses the tape drive device according to the data access request, and the controller also returns an access result to the host. The access result may refer to the data read by the controller from the tape drive device, or the controller has successfully written the data carried by the data access request to the tape drive device, etc.

[0019] Based on the implementations provided in the above aspects, this application can also be further combined to provide more implementations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a tape drive device provided for this application;

[0021] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a magnetic tape provided for this application;

[0022] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a general LTO tape drive;

[0023] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of a tape drive provided in this application Figure 1 ;

[0024] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the cooperation between the tape and the tape drive in the tape device provided by this application Figure 1 ;

[0025] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the cooperation between the tape and the tape drive in the tape device provided by this application Figure 2 ;

[0026] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of a tape drive provided in this application Figure 2 ;

[0027] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the structure of a tape drive provided in this application Figure 3 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] In the present application, multiple groups of read-write heads in the head body cooperate with each other to access different data bands in the head, which is beneficial to reduce the head stroke height, thereby reducing the thickness of the tape drive device and improving the space utilization in the tape drive device.

[0029] Specifically, the head body in the tape drive includes two sets of read-write heads arranged side by side. In the process of the tape drive accessing the tape, the two sets of read-write heads can be used to access different data bands in the tape. Since the data band that has been accessed by one set of read-write heads does not need to be repeatedly accessed by another set of read-write heads, the moving distance corresponding to the width of at least one data band in the tape can be reduced in the process of the head body moving from the bottom to the top of the tape along the width direction of the tape, thereby reducing the moving distance of the head body during the data access process when the height of the head body remains unchanged, which is conducive to reducing the head stroke height of the head body. In addition, considering that the height of the head body along the extension direction of the head body (i.e., the width direction of the tape) needs to be greater than the width of the tape, and the head body includes two sets of read-write heads arranged side by side, therefore, in the data access process, one of the two sets of read-write heads can be located at the edge data band along the width direction of the tape, and the height of the head body can also be lower than the height of the head body having only one set of read-write heads, which is conducive to further reducing the head stroke height of the head body.

[0030] The technical solutions involved in this application may not only be applied to current tape drive devices, but may also be applied to future tape drive devices, or storage systems including tape drive devices. The terms used in the implementation methods of this application are only used to explain the specific embodiments of this application, and are not intended to limit this application. The following is a brief introduction to some concepts that may be involved in this application.

[0031] Magnetic head body: includes a magnetic head and a magnetic head support, wherein the support is used to fix the magnetic head on the magnetic head body.

[0032] Head: (header): The component that reads and writes the magnetic medium on the tape through the magnetic principle, which is divided into a write head and a read head. The write head records data by magnetizing and changing the magnetic field of the magnetic medium (such as magnetic powder), and the read head reads the data on the magnetic medium by sensing the magnetic field of the magnetic medium.

[0033] Magnetic tape: A tape material with a magnetic layer used to record sound, images, numbers or other signals. The magnetic tape contains a magnetic medium such as magnetic powder or other media for storing data. For example, the magnetic field change in the magnetic medium is usually formed by coating a layer of granular magnetic material on a plastic film tape base (support) or evaporating and depositing a layer of magnetic oxide or alloy film. The tape base of the magnetic tape may include, but is not limited to: paper, celluloid or polyester film.

[0034] Head travel height: the sum of the height of the head body and the distance the head body moves up and down along the extension direction of the head body.

[0035] In order to make the description of the following embodiments clear and concise, a brief introduction to the related technology is first given.

[0036] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a tape drive device provided in this application. Figure 1 The tape drive device 100 is a top view in FIG. 1 , and includes: a tape reel 101, a tape reel 102, a tape 110, a tape drive 120, and a plurality of rollers (such as rollers 1 to 4). The tape 110 is used to store data, and the tape drive 120 is used to access the data in the tape. The specific implementation of the tape drive 120 can refer to the tape drive described in any of the following figures, and will not be described in detail here.

[0037] The tape reels 101 and 102 are used to roll up the magnetic tape 110 to form a circle (or other shapes) to reduce the space occupied by the magnetic tape 110 in the tape drive device 100 and improve the space utilization rate in the tape drive device 100 .

[0038] The tape drive is equivalent to the combination of a tape drive and a tape. The tape is fixedly integrated inside the tape drive when it leaves the factory, thus forming an overall structure similar to a hard disk drive (HDD), which is called a "tape reel". This means that it is difficult to remove / insert the tape by opening the drive, so it is difficult to easily replace the tape; it is also difficult to move the tape to the position of the drive by a robot arm / manually to read / write the data on the tape. The advantage is that the tape is sealed inside the tape reel, and it is difficult for external media such as dust, liquid or air to contact the tape and each magnetic head, thereby increasing the service life of the tape and each magnetic head in the tape reel.

[0039] In some possible situations, if the tape is fixedly sealed in a tape drive device, the tape drive device may also be called an integrated tape drive, an integrated tape reel or an integrated tape drive, etc., which is not limited in the present application.

[0040] In the tape drive device 100, a magnetic head included in the magnetic tape drive 120 moves up and down along the thickness direction of the tape drive device 100 to access data stored in the magnetic tape 110. Figure 1 As shown in the front view of the magnetic tape drive 100, the magnetic head can move up and down between a height 1 and a height 2, and the height difference between the height 1 and the height 2 is the magnetic head travel height in the magnetic tape drive device 100.

[0041] Regarding the implementation of the magnetic tape 110, a possible example is given below: Figure 2 As shown, Figure 2 The present application provides a schematic diagram of the structure of a magnetic tape. The magnetic tape 110 includes a base tape 110A and a plurality of data bands. The base tape 110A refers to the tape base of the magnetic tape 110, and the base tape 110A can be, but is not limited to, paper, celluloid, or polyester film, etc., a material used to carry magnetic media.

[0042] exist Figure 2 In the embodiment, the plurality of data bands include: data band 0, data band 1, data band 2 and data band 3. The plurality of data bands are arranged side by side along the width direction of the magnetic tape 110. Figure 2 In the embodiment, the width direction of the magnetic tape 110 refers to the direction from data band 0 to data band 3, or the direction from data band 3 to data band 0.

[0043] In one possible example, Figure 2 The width of each data band is 3mm; corresponding to the width of each data band is 3mm, Figure 2 The width of the middle magnetic tape 110 may be 12 mm to 15.7 mm. In some cases, the width of the data tape may be slightly larger than 3 mm or slightly smaller than 3 mm, etc., due to the limitation of the manufacturing process of the magnetic tape.

[0044] For example, if there is no gap between the four data tapes arranged side by side and there is no redundant width at the edge of the magnetic tape 110 , the width of the magnetic tape 110 is 3 mm×4=12 mm.

[0045] For another example, if there is no gap between the four data tapes arranged side by side and there is an edge at the edge of the tape 110, the width of the tape 110 is 3mm×4+the width of the edge. The edge can be: the edge of the tape 110 set in the width direction to prevent the data tapes in the tape 110 from directly contacting other hardware in the tape drive device. If the width of the edge is 0.7mm-3.7mm, the width of the tape is 12mm-15.7mm.

[0046] For another example, if there is a gap between adjacent data strips in four data strips arranged side by side and there is an edge at the edge of the magnetic tape 110, the width of the magnetic tape 110 is 3 mm×4+the width of the edge+the width of the gap. For example, if the width of each gap is 0.1 mm and the width of the edge of a single side of the magnetic tape 110 is 0.2 mm, the width of the magnetic tape 110 is 3 mm×4+0.1 mm×3+0.2 mm×2=12.7 mm.

[0047] In a possible scenario, each data tape in the magnetic tape 110 is connected to a base tape, and the edge of the magnetic tape 110 is the edge of the base tape.

[0048] It is worth noting that the above tape widths are only examples provided in this embodiment, and should not be understood as the tape widths included in the tape drive device provided in this application can only be within the range provided in the above examples. For example, the tape width can also be 13mm, 14mm, 15mm or other values, such as 13.5mm, 14.5mm, 15.5mm or other values. In some optional ways, the number of data tapes included in the tape can also be more or less, and the width of the data tape can also be other sizes besides 3mm, which is not limited in this application.

[0049] The thickness of the tape drive device is related to the head stroke height and the thickness of the tape drive housing. The head stroke height is the sum of the height of the head body and the maximum moving distance of the head body during data access.

[0050] like Figure 3 As shown, Figure 3 The figure is a schematic diagram of a general LTO tape drive. The LTO tape drive includes a head body and a tape. The tape width in the LTO tape drive is about 12.7 mm. The tape includes 4 data bands, and the effective access width of each data band is 3 mm. To avoid damage to the tape, even when the head body is moving up and down, it is necessary to ensure that the head can cover the width of the tape. Figure 3 When the head body in the image accesses different data bands, the position of the head body is different: position L1-data band 0, position L2-data band 1, position L3-data band 2, position L4-data band 3. Among these four positions, the height corresponding to position L1 is h1, and the height corresponding to position L4 is h2. Therefore, the height of the head body must be greater than 12.7 mm. Figure 3 The height of the head body is about 27mm, the height of the read / write head in the head body is about 3mm, and the head stroke height △H = h1-h2 = 36mm. Furthermore, combined with the shell thickness of the tape drive device (such as 2mm×2), the thickness of the tape drive reaches nearly 40mm, but the thickness of the effective storage space in the tape drive is only 12.7mm, resulting in low space utilization of the tape drive and low capacity density of the storage space.

[0051] In order to improve the space utilization rate of the tape drive in the tape drive device 100 and the capacity density of the storage space, the following implementation method of the tape drive 120 is used: Figures 4 to 8 Several possible embodiments are provided. Figure 4 As shown, Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of a tape drive provided in this application Figure 1 The tape drive 400 may be used to implement Figure 1 The function of the tape drive 120 is as follows: Figure 4 , the structure of the tape drive 400 provided in this embodiment is exemplarily described.

[0052] like Figure 4 As shown in the side view, the magnetic tape drive 400 includes a base 410 and a head body 420 .

[0053] The head body 420 is located on one side of the base 410. Figure 4 In the embodiment, one side of the base 410 for supporting the head body is a plane, but in some feasible cases, the side of the base 410 can also be a curved surface or a surface of other shapes, as long as the base 410 can support and fix the head body in the above-mentioned tape drive.

[0054] It is worth noting that in Figure 4 In the figure, the length of the supporting surface provided by the base 410 along the first direction is the same as the height of the head body 420, but in some possible examples, the length of the supporting surface provided by the base 410 along the first direction may also be greater than the height of the head body 420, which is not limited in the present application.

[0055] The head body 420 includes: a first group of read-write heads 421, a first spacer 4241, and a second group of read-write heads 422 arranged side by side along a first direction, wherein the first direction is the extension direction of the head body 420. Figure 4 The front view (also called the front view) shown, side-by-side arrangement may mean that the first group of read-write heads 421 and the second group of read-write heads 422 do not have overlapping areas on the head body, and the projections of the first group of read-write heads 421 and the second group of read-write heads 422 in the second direction do not overlap. The second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.

[0056] exist Figure 4 In the illustrated tape drive 400, the first spacer 4241 is a spacer structure. However, in some optional cases, the first spacer 4241 may have no structure but may be a space (such as a gap) that separates different groups of read / write heads.

[0057] In a possible example, each group of read-write heads includes, from left to right, a first write head, a read head, and a second write head. The read head is located between the first write head and the second write head. In the process of writing data, the magnetic tape slides from left to right, and the first write head magnetizes the storage position of the data to be written in the magnetic tape, thereby changing the magnetic field of the magnetic medium (such as magnetic powder) in the storage position, and then storing the data to be written in the storage position. In addition, the read head senses the magnetic field of the storage position, thereby performing a read-back check on the data written by the first write head to the magnetic tape to ensure the accuracy of the written data.

[0058] During use of the tape drive 400, the two sets of read and write heads may be used to access different data bands in the tape.

[0059] Exemplarily, the first set of read-write heads is used to access the first data band in the magnetic tape, and the second set of read-write heads is used to access the second data band in the magnetic tape. The projection of the first set of read-write heads on the first data band is located in the area of ​​the first data band, and the projection of the second set of read-write heads on the second data band is located in the area of ​​the second data band.

[0060] In a possible scenario, there are multiple data bands including m data bands between the first data band and the second data band, where m is a positive integer.

[0061] Exemplarily, the width of the first spacer 4241 matches the width of one or more data strips. For example, the width of the first spacer 4241 matches the width of the m data strips. When there is no gap between the m data strips, the width of the first spacer 4241 is consistent with the width of the m data strips; when there is a gap between the m data strips, the width of the first spacer 4241 is slightly larger than the width of the m data strips. For more information about the gaps between data strips, please refer to Figure 2 The relevant description is not repeated here.

[0062] In this way, the head body 420 moves above the data belt driven by the motor. When one set of read / write heads moves above one data belt driven by the motor, another set of read / write heads is just located above another data belt.

[0063] Take m=1 (i.e., there is a data band between the first data band and the second data band) as an example below. Figure 5 For example, Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the cooperation between the tape and the tape drive in the tape device provided by this application Figure 1 If the head body 420 is at position M1, the first group of read-write heads 421 can access data stored in data band 0 (first data band), and the second group of read-write heads 422 can access data stored in data band 2 (second data band); if the head body 420 is at position M2, the first group of read-write heads 421 can access data stored in data band 1 (first data band), and the second group of read-write heads 422 can access data stored in data band 3 (second data band). The sum of the width of data band 2 and the widths of both sides of the data band 2 is the width of the first spacer 4241.

[0064] exist Figure 5 In the example, the width of the tape is 12.7 mm. The width of the tape may also be other values, as described above. Figure 2 The description, such as the width of the tape is 12mm-15.7mm, is not repeated here.

[0065] exist Figure 5In FIG. 4 , the head stroke height of the head body is ΔH=h1-h2=24 mm, wherein h1 is the height of the head body 420 when it is at position M1, and h2 is the height of the head body 420 when it is at position M2.

[0066] It is worth noting that Figure 5 △H is only an example provided in this embodiment. In some optional implementations, the head stroke height △H is different according to the height of the head body 420.

[0067] Combined with the above Figure 2 The range of the tape width is exemplified by taking the tape width as 12.7 mm. Figure 5 Whether the head body 420 is at position M1 or position M2, the head body 420 can cover the width of the magnetic tape, and the minimum height of the head body 420 is 12.7 mm (the width of the magnetic tape) + 3 mm (the distance of moving one data tape) = 15.7 mm.

[0068] In addition, taking the thickness of the head body 420 adapted to a 3.5-inch hard disk frame as an example, the thickness of the 3.5-inch hard disk frame is 26mm, and 2×1mm (single-side shell thickness) + 3mm (distance for moving a data band) is reserved, then the maximum height of the head body 420 is 26mm-2×1mm-3mm=21mm.

[0069] Therefore, the height of the magnetic head body 420 can be 15.7 mm-21 mm. The above is only an example provided in this embodiment and should not be understood as a limitation of the present application. For example, the height of the magnetic head body 420 can also be 16 mm, 17 mm, 18 mm, 19 mm, 20 mm or other values, such as 16.5 mm, 17.5 mm, 18.5 mm, 19.5 mm, 20.5 mm or other values.

[0070] The height of the head body 420 is 15.7mm-21mm, and the head stroke height of the head body 420 needs to be added with a moving distance of at least 3mm (corresponding to the width of a data band), so the head stroke height △H can be 18.7mm-24mm. Among them, 18.7mm corresponds to the height of the head body 420 is 15.7mm+3mm (the distance of moving a data band), and 24mm corresponds to the height of the head body 420 is 21mm+3mm (the distance of moving a data band).

[0071] The above embodiment is described by taking the case where there is one data band between the first data band and the second data band as an example, but in the case where the number of data bands included in the magnetic tape is more, the number of data bands included between the first data band and the second data band can be more. Corresponding to the case where there are more data bands between the two data bands, in the magnetic head body, the gap between the two groups of read-write heads is increased, and the increased gap (such as the first spacer 4241 mentioned above) is consistent with the width corresponding to the more data bands. Optionally, corresponding to the first spacer 4241 mentioned above, the length of the first spacer 4241 along the extension direction of the magnetic head body 420 is consistent with the width between the first data band and the second data band.

[0072] In another possible scenario, the first data band and the second data band may refer to two adjacent data bands in the magnetic tape. Figure 6 For example, Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the cooperation between the tape and the tape drive in the tape device provided by this application Figure 2 .

[0073] If the head body is at position N1, the first set of read / write heads can access data stored in data band 0 (first data band), and the second set of read / write heads can access data stored in data band 1 (second data band).

[0074] If the head body is at position N2, the first set of read / write heads can access data stored in data band 1 (first data band), and the second set of read / write heads can access data stored in data band 2 (second data band).

[0075] If the head body is at position N3, the first set of read / write heads can access data stored in data band 2 (first data band), and the second set of read / write heads can access data stored in data band 3 (second data band).

[0076] In actual use, the magnetic head body may not stay at position N2, but may access the magnetic tape at position N1 or position N3.

[0077] Figure 6 and Figure 5 The difference is: ①, Figure 6 The height of the middle head body will increase by 3mm (the height of the head body needs to cover the width of one more data band); ②, Figure 6 The moving distance of the middle head body will increase by 3mm (the head body needs to move one more data band width). Corresponding to the tape width of 12.7mm, the minimum height of the head body 420 is 12.7mm (the tape width) + 6mm (the moving distance of two data bands) = 18.7mm.

[0078] The maximum height of the magnetic head body can be determined according to the size of the magnetic tape drive and the hard disk frame where the magnetic tape is located, and this application does not limit this, for example, 13mm, 14mm, 15mm, 16mm, 17mm, 18mm or other values, such as 13.5mm, 14.5mm, 15.5mm, 16.5mm, 17.5mm, 18.5mm or other values.

[0079] In this embodiment, since the data band that has been accessed by one group of read-write heads does not need to be repeatedly accessed by another group of read-write heads, the moving distance corresponding to the width of at least one data band in the magnetic tape can be reduced in the process of the head body moving from the bottom to the top of the magnetic tape along the width direction of the magnetic tape. Thus, when the height of the head body remains unchanged, the moving distance of the head body during the data access process is reduced, which is beneficial to reducing the head travel height of the head body.

[0080] Also, considering that along the extension direction of the head body (the first direction), the height of the head body needs to be greater than the width of the magnetic tape, and the head body includes two groups of read-write heads arranged side by side, therefore, during data access, one of the two groups of read-write heads can be located at the edge data band along the width direction of the magnetic tape (such as data band 0 or data band 3), and the height of the head body can also be lower than the height of the head body having only one group of read-write heads, which is beneficial to further reduce the head travel height of the head body.

[0081] When the head stroke height of the magnetic head body is reduced, the thickness of the magnetic tape drive device to which the magnetic tape drive belongs can be made lower, which is beneficial to improving the space utilization rate of the magnetic tape drive and the capacity density of the storage space.

[0082] Since the magnetic head body in the tape drive includes two sets of read-write magnetic heads, in order to avoid the disorder of the electrical signals transmitted by the two sets of read-write magnetic heads in the tape drive, Figure 5 Based on this, a possible implementation method is provided, such as Figure 7 As shown, Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of a tape drive provided in this application Figure 2 The tape drive 400 includes not only Figure 4 The components shown in the figure further include a control component 70. The control component 70 includes a selection switch 71, a preamplifier circuit 72, an analog-to-digital conversion circuit 73, a signal processing circuit 74 and a drive circuit 75.

[0083] The selection switch 71 includes a first selection interface (selection interface 1) and a second selection interface (selection interface 2). The selection interface 1 is connected to the first group of read-write heads 421, and the selection interface 2 is connected to the second group of read-write heads 422. Then, the control component 70 uses the electrical signal transmitted by the selection interface 1 or the selection interface 2 as a valid electrical signal. The electrical signal here can refer to a voltage signal or a current signal.

[0084] As an optional example, the selection switch 71 may be an analog switch, which is designed to conduct (or isolate) analog signals (including voltage and current signals) and support analog applications (such as audio and video data transmission).

[0085] During the use of the tape drive 400, the control component regards the electrical signal transmitted by a group of read-write heads in the first group of read-write heads or the second group of read-write heads as a valid electrical signal, which helps to avoid mutual interference between the electrical signals of the two groups of read-write heads or more groups of read-write heads, so that the tape drive can accurately access the data in the tape.

[0086] The preamplifier circuit 72 is connected to the third interface (interface 3) of the selection switch 71, and amplifies the effective electrical signal to obtain the electrical signal to be processed. The preamplifier circuit 72 can improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the effective electrical signal transmitted by the selection switch 71, reduce the relative influence of external interference on the electrical signal corresponding to the read-write head, so as to improve the accuracy of the electrical signal to be processed. For example, the preamplifier circuit 72 can be but not limited to: a preamplifier (preamplifier, pre-amp), such as a line amplifier, etc. It should be understood that the preamplifier circuit 72 can include a single-stage preamplifier or a multi-stage preamplifier, which is not limited in this application.

[0087] The analog-to-digital conversion circuit 73 is connected to the preamplifier circuit 72 and converts the electrical signal to be processed to obtain a digital signal. The analog-to-digital conversion circuit 73 may refer to a device that converts a continuous variable analog signal into a discrete digital signal, such as an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). For example, the analog-to-digital conversion circuit 73 may perform steps such as sampling, holding, quantizing, and encoding the electrical signal to be processed to obtain a digital signal.

[0088] The signal processing circuit 74 is connected to the analog-to-digital conversion circuit 73 and receives the digital signal. The signal processing circuit 74 may be a digital signal processor (DSP) or other types of processing, etc. Exemplarily, the signal processing circuit 74 may send the digital signal to other chips or communication devices, etc. For example, the chip may be a controller that communicates with the tape drive, and the communication device may be a server, terminal or other device that communicates with the tape drive device where the tape drive is located.

[0089] In some optional implementations, the signal processing circuit 74 is also used to generate a control signal and send the control signal to the driving circuit 75 .

[0090] The driving circuit 75 is connected to the signal processing circuit 74. In response to the signal processing circuit 74 sending a control signal to the driving circuit 75, the driving circuit 75 receives the control signal and switches the selection interface included in the control component 70 according to the control signal. Optionally, the driving circuit 75 can also control the magnetic head body to move along the width direction of the magnetic tape according to the control signal, so that the read / write magnetic head in the magnetic head body accesses different data bands in the magnetic tape.

[0091] In this embodiment, the control component processes the effective electrical signal transmitted by one group of read-write heads among the multiple groups of read-write heads, that is, the control component is used to implement the switching (selecting one) of the electrical signals transmitted by the multiple groups of read-write heads, thereby avoiding mutual interference of electrical signals between two groups of read-write heads or other read-write heads in more groups of read-write heads, so that the tape drive can accurately access the data in the tape.

[0092] As an optional implementation, the control component provided in the above embodiment can be arranged on a flexible printed circuit (FPC). A flexible printed circuit, also known as a soft printed circuit or a flexible printed circuit, is a highly reliable and highly flexible printed circuit board made of polyimide or polyester film as a substrate. A flexible printed circuit board has the characteristics of high wiring density, light weight, thin thickness and good bendability. When the various circuits in the control component are integrated on a flexible printed circuit board, the control component can also be packaged as a wafer. Then, the control component is integrated in a wafer, which reduces the volume of the tape drive, helps to reduce the volume share of the tape drive in the tape drive device, and improves the space utilization rate in the tape drive device.

[0093] When the tape drive device adopts the tape drive provided by the above embodiment, Figure 1 The thickness of the tape drive device 100 can be 20.7 mm-26 mm, for example 21 mm, 22 mm, 23 mm, 24 mm, 25 mm or other values, such as 21.5 mm, 22.5 mm, 23.5 mm, 24.5 mm, 25.5 mm or other values.

[0094] For example, when the thickness of the tape drive device is 26 mm, the tape drive device can be set to the same size as a 3.5-inch hard disk frame, so that the tape drive device (or tape reel) can be universally deployed with commonly used hard disk devices such as HDDs, thereby applying the tape drive device to conventional storage systems.

[0095] As another example, based on the minimum value of the head stroke height in the above embodiment being 18.7 mm, the minimum thickness of the tape drive device may be 18.7 mm+2×1 mm (the shell thickness on one side of the tape drive device).

[0096] It is worth noting that the thickness of the above tape drive device is only an example provided in this embodiment. The thickness of the tape drive device may vary according to the thickness of the shell and the head stroke height, and this application does not limit this.

[0097] The above-mentioned tape drive and tape machine device are described by taking the tape body including two sets of read-write heads as an example. However, in some optional implementations, the head body may also include more sets of read-write heads. Figure 4 and Figure 5 Based on the above, the magnetic head body 420 includes a third set of read-write magnetic heads for exemplary description, such as Figure 8 As shown, Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the structure of a tape drive provided in this application Figure 3 The tape drive 400 includes not only Figure 4 Each device shown in the figure further includes: a second spacer 4242 arranged side by side with the second group of read-write heads 422 along the first direction; and a third group of read-write heads 423. The second spacer 4242 is located between the third group of read-write heads 423 and the second group of read-write heads 422.

[0098] The third group of read / write heads 423 and the first group of read / write heads 421 are arranged side by side along the first direction, and the projections of the third group of read / write heads 423 and the second group of read / write heads 422 in the second direction do not overlap, and the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.

[0099] like Figure 8 In the illustrated situation (1), the first group of read-write heads 421, the second group of read-write heads 422, and the third group of read-write heads 423 are arranged side by side along the first direction, each group of read-write heads corresponds to a data band, each group of read-write heads is used to access a data band, and the data bands accessed by the three groups of read-write heads are adjacent. For example, when the head body 420 is in position M1, the first group of read-write heads 421 is used to access data band 1, the second group of read-write heads 422 is used to access data band 2, and the third group of read-write heads 423 is used to access data band 3. For another example, when the head body 420 is in position M2, the first group of read-write heads 421 is used to access data band 0, the second group of read-write heads 422 is used to access data band 1, and the third group of read-write heads 423 is used to access data band 2.

[0100] like Figure 8In the illustrated case (2), the first group of read-write heads 421, the second group of read-write heads 422, and the third group of read-write heads 423 are arranged side by side along the first direction, each group of read-write heads corresponds to a data band, each group of read-write heads is used to access a data band, and the data bands accessed by the three groups of read-write heads are not adjacent. For example, when the head body 420 is in position R1, the first group of read-write heads 421 is used to access data band 0, the second group of read-write heads 422 is used to access data band 2, and the third group of read-write heads 423 is used to access data band 4. For another example, when the head body 420 is in position R2, the first group of read-write heads 421 is used to access data band 1, the second group of read-write heads 422 is used to access data band 3, and the third group of read-write heads 423 is used to access data band 5.

[0101] It is worth noting that the length of the second spacer 4242 along the head body 420 can be set according to different situations, and the present application does not limit this. Figure 8 In the illustrated case (2), the second spacer 4242 is consistent with the width of the gap between the data band 3 and the data band 5 .

[0102] In combination with the above-mentioned embodiments, in the embodiments of the present application, multiple groups of read-write heads in the head body cooperate to reduce the height of the head body while also reducing the head stroke height of the head. For example, when the head stroke height is reduced to 24 mm or less, the requirements of an integrated tape drive under thickness restrictions can be met.

[0103] Take the tape drive device with a 3.5-inch hard disk enclosure as an example. Figure 3 The content provided, the proportion of the tape in the tape drive device is 12.7mm / 40mm≈32% (i.e., the capacity density per unit volume). In contrast, in this application, combined with Figure 5 According to the content provided, the maximum proportion of the magnetic tape in the magnetic tape drive device can be 12.7mm / (24mm+2×1mm)≈49%. Therefore, considering the extension direction of the magnetic head body (i.e., the width direction of the magnetic tape), the height of the magnetic head body needs to be greater than the width of the magnetic tape, and the magnetic head body includes two sets of read-write magnetic heads arranged side by side. Therefore, during the data access process, one of the two sets of read-write magnetic heads can be located at the edge data band along the width direction of the magnetic tape, and the height of the magnetic head body can also be lower than the height of the magnetic head body having only one set of read-write magnetic heads, which is conducive to reducing the head stroke height of the magnetic head body.

[0104] The present application also provides a storage system. The storage system includes a tape drive device provided by any of the aforementioned embodiments, and a controller. The tape drive device is used to store data, and the controller is used to manage the tape drive device, such as accessing the tape drive device according to a data access request. The storage system is, for example, a tape library, or a computer / server with a tape drive device as a persistent storage medium. Exemplarily, the controller receives a data access request from a host, accesses the tape drive device according to the data access request, and the controller also returns the access result to the host. The access result may refer to the data read by the controller from the tape drive device, or the controller has successfully written the data carried by the data access request to the tape drive device, etc. The host here may include but is not limited to: user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc. The user device may be, for example, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a server, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc.

[0105] The controller includes one or more processors, and the processor can be a very large scale integrated circuit. An operating system and other software programs are installed in the processor, so that the processor can access the tape drive device and various peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) devices. The processor includes one or more processor cores. The processor core in the processor is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) or other specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The processor can also be other general-purpose processors, DSPs, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. In practical applications, the storage system can also include multiple controllers.

[0106] Optionally, the storage system may also include but is not limited to other storage media: dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), etc., which are used to cache data from the tape drive device for processing by the processor. In addition, other storage media may also be read-only memory (ROM). As for read-only memory, for example, it may be programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), etc. This embodiment does not limit the number and type of other storage media. In addition, other storage media may be configured to have a power-saving function. The power-saving function means that when the system loses power and then powers on again, the data stored in the memory will not be lost. Storage media with a power-saving function are called non-volatile memories.

[0107] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Various equivalent modifications or replacements are conceivable within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, and these modifications or replacements should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A tape drive, characterized in that: include: Pedestal; The head body is located on one side of the base and includes: a first group of read-write heads, a first spacing portion and a second group of read-write heads arranged side by side along a first direction, each group of read-write heads includes a read head and a write head, and the first direction is the extension direction of the head body.

2. The tape drive according to claim 1, wherein: The width of the first spacer matches the width of one or more data strips.

3. The tape drive according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The magnetic head body also includes: a second spacing portion, arranged side by side with the second group of read-write heads along the first direction; A third group of read-write heads is arranged side by side with the first group of read-write heads along the first direction, and the second spacer is located between the third group of read-write heads and the second group of read-write heads, the projections of the third group of read-write heads and the second group of read-write heads in the second direction do not overlap, and the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.

4. The tape drive according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The tape drive further comprises: The control component includes: a selection switch, wherein the selection switch includes a first selection interface and a second selection interface; The first selection interface is connected to the first group of read-write heads, and the second selection interface is connected to the second group of read-write heads; The control component regards the electrical signal transmitted by the first selection interface or the second selection interface as a valid electrical signal.

5. The tape drive according to claim 4, wherein: The control component also includes: A preamplifier circuit is connected to the third interface of the selection switch and amplifies the effective electrical signal to obtain an electrical signal to be processed; an analog-to-digital conversion circuit, connected to the preamplifier circuit, and converting the electrical signal to be processed to obtain a digital signal; A signal processing circuit, connected to the analog-to-digital conversion circuit, and receiving the digital signal; The signal processing circuit is further used to generate a control signal and send the control signal to the driving circuit; The driving circuit is connected to the signal processing circuit and switches the selection interface included in the control component according to the control signal.

6. A tape drive device, characterized in that: include: magnetic tape, used to store data; The magnetic tape drive according to any one of claims 1 to 5, used for accessing data in a magnetic tape.

7. The tape drive device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The magnetic tape is fixedly sealed in the magnetic tape drive device.

8. The tape drive device according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: The magnetic tape comprises: a plurality of data tapes arranged side by side along the length direction of the magnetic tape; the plurality of data tapes comprises: a first data tape and a second data tape; The projection of the first set of read / write heads on the first data band is located within the area of ​​the first data band; The projection of the second group of read-write heads on the second data band is located within the area of ​​the second data band.

9. The tape drive device according to claim 8, characterized in that: There are m data bands included in the plurality of data bands between the first data band and the second data band, where m is a positive integer.

10. The tape drive device according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that: The width of the magnetic tape is 12 mm-15.7 mm, and the height of the magnetic head body is 15.7 mm-21 mm.

11. The tape drive device according to any one of claims 6 to 10, characterized in that: The thickness of the tape drive device is 20.7mm-26mm.

12. A storage system, characterized in that: include: One or more tape drive devices according to any one of claims 6 to 11, for storing data; The controller is used to manage the tape drive device, receive a data access request from a host, access the tape drive device according to the data access request, and return an access result to the host.

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