Abstract: A flexible magnetic medium having a plurality of optical servo tracks indelibly marked on the medium and a method for stamping the tracks on the medium. The optical servo tracks comprise a plurality of circular concentric regions positioned on a face of a floppy disk with each circular region comprising a plurality of pits. The optical servo tracks are imprinted on the floppy disk by placing a stamper disk bearing a template of the optical servo tracks in a hydraulic press and pressing the stamper disk and floppy disk together, typically under five to nine tons per square inch of pressure.

Abstract: A magnetic record reproducing method includes the steps of bringing a magnetic film, capable of producing a magneto static wave, into intimate contact with or proximity to the recording surface of a magnetic recording medium, causing the magnetic film to produce the magnetostatic wave, detecting any variation in wave number in the magnetostatic wave attributable to the magnetized signal of the recording surface, and converting the variation in wave number in the magnetostatic wave into an electrical signal.

Abstract: A magnetooptical recording element having improved corrosion and oxidation resistance comprises a substrate and a magnetooptical recording film having a composition represented by the formula:(TbFeCo).sub.1-x-y Zr.sub.x Pd.sub.ywherein x and y represent atomic percent,1.ltoreq.x.ltoreq.15 and 1.ltoreq.y.ltoreq.15.

Abstract: A data storage apparatus has a magnetic head opposed to a magnetic recording medium and movable relative to the medium so as to magnetically write or read data to or from the medium. A displacement sensor monitors a distance between the head and the medium. An actuator which supports the head is driven according to the monitored results so as to maintain constantly the distance. The actuator includes a vibrator for vibrating the head at a given frequency effective to produce air pressure against the medium. The head has a bottom face opposed to the medium and convexed outwardly toward the medium, and the medium is made of elastic material concavedly deformable in response to the air pressure.

Abstract: Sensor are widely used to read magnetic data and to read the magnetic and the optical patterns printed on notes and so on. A multichannel head in accordance with the present invention has plural magnetic cores arranged in a row and a cancellation core for noise removal, the head can detect magnetic characteristics as a whole in a stationary state without depending on the relative speed of the magnetic member with the head, and therefore is least affected by noise. Since one cancellation core is shared by plural magnetic cores, the structure as a whole becomes simple, and the cost of manufacture can be remarkably reduced. Since a magnetic head is combined with optical fibers in an integral structure according to this invention, it can read magnetic patterns and the optical patterns on the same location simultaneously by a parallel operation.

Abstract: A virtually transparent magnetic layer is included as an additional layer in a color negative film. Information exchange between various users of the film--such as the camera user, the dealer, and the photofinishers film-to-video printer--is carried via plural longitudinal magnetic tracks on the film, each track being dedicated to the writing and reading of a predetermined set of related parameters. The photofinisher-dedicated track locations fill the exposed image area of each frame. The camera tracks lie along the edges of the film between the film perforations, the preforations being widely spaced for this purpose. All data, such as cropping, zooming, rotating or character superposition instructions, is recorded as individual pieces of information identified by virtual data identifiers to enable the film-to-video printer to quickly access and execute such instructions by altering the video signal produced from each frame of the developed film.

Abstract: A retrieval apparatus for automatically retrieving a desired image on a recording medium having an image and information for retrieving the image, wherein a retrieval operation can be performed using various types of recording media. The retrieval apparatus has a card holding section for detachably holding a card storing retrieval data corresponding to a recording medium, and a reader for reading storage information of the card held by the card holding section.

Abstract: A new data recording method is provided in which a consumed amount of predetermined value is recorded in a card memory. Two recording areas are provided in a card memory. The first recording area consists of a plurality of record bits (a through j) which are unchangeable when marked. The second recording area consists of a changeable memory (M). Upper digits of the consumed amount are recorded in the first recording area so as to improve the factor of safety and lower digits of the consumed amount are recorded in the second recording area so as to improve the factor of freedom.

Abstract: An information recording system utilizing an IC card having an onboard microprocessor, an onboard semiconductor memory which can be accessed from outside the card only by way of the microprocessor, and an onboard mass storage device also accessible from outside the card but directly rather than through the microprocessor. The mass storage device can be a mass storage magnetic recording media or preferably an optical storage device, and provides a relatively inexpensive information storage media for large amounts of data. The semiconductor memory stores information which is necessary to properly access the information in the mass storage memory, and outputs that information to an associated interface unit only by way of the microprocessor. Thus, address or encryption information which is stored in the semiconductor memory is secure because of access being limited by the onboard microprocessor, and securing that information makes more secure the information stored in the mass storage device.

Abstract: A CD system in which position information of different pieces recorded on the CD is used to calculate how many of the pieces can be recorded on one side of a tape. When the maximum number of recordable pieces have been played, the tape is reversed. The invention also allows the pieces to be evenly divided between the two sides of the tape.

Abstract: An information-reproducing system for reading information from a plurality of storage layers of an optical disk. The system includes a light source for irradiating the optical disk with a radiation, a first information-reproducing device for reading information from one of the plurality of storage layers, based on a change in an amount of the radiation reflected by the one storage layer, and a second information-reproducing device for reading information from another of the storage layers, based on a change in an angle of Kerr rotation of the radiation reflected by the above-indicated another storage layer.

Abstract: A photo-electro-magnetic disc device has a photo-electro-magnetic disc accommodated in a disc cartridge load as a unit into cartridge holder loaded in the disc device. The cartridge holder with the end of a loading mechanism moves the disc onto a turn table. An optical head and a magnetic field applying part for recording data are loaded facing opposite sides of the disc. Magnetic members are provided on the same side of the disc as is the optical head and are connected to the cartridge holder which is made of magnetic material as to confront magnetic field applying part through the disc. A magnetic circuit which includes the disc is thus formed whereby the magnetic flux from the magnetic field applying part passes through the disc thereby providing a high magnetic field strength throughout the entire region of the disc to be irradiated by a light spot from the optical head.

Abstract: A composite magnetic and optical head comprises a magnetic sensor including a magnetic core which is adapted to detect a magnetic pattern recorded on a record medium; an optical sensor including a nonmagnetic light transmitting member located along a distal gap of the magnetic sensor and an optical fiber bundle having one end connected to the light transmitting member, and adapted to detect an optical pattern recorded on the record medium; and a holder containing the magnetic and optical sensors in the internal space thereof, the holder having two opposite side walls extending at right angles to the distal gap of the magnetic core and one end face from which the distal gap projects outward.

Abstract: In an optical disk system of the type including an optical disk for performing the recording and reproduction of data by use of a semiconductor laser and an optical disk recording and reproducing apparatus, an optical disk, optical disk recording and reproducing apparatus and copy preventive method for optical disks capable of preventing copying of the stored data from one optical disk on another. Irrespective of the kinds of optical disks, such as, read only-type optical disk, DRAW-type optical disk and erasable optical disk, each of the optical disks is provided in common with sectors from which data can be reproduced but not recorded on, i.e., data record-protected sectors and at least part of the stored data is stored in the record-protected sectors of the optical disk, thereby protecting the stored data from being recorded on the same address sectors of another recordable optical disk forming a part of the optical disk system.

Abstract: A compact disc having digitally encoded, reproducible data recorded in tracks on a playing side and having an editing device for storing order of play data to control the sequence in which the tracks are played is provided. The editing device can be on the nonplaying side of the compact disc. A compact disc reproduction system, specially equipped to play discs having editing devices thereon, has a read/write head for reading order of play data from the editing device and for selectively encoding the editing device with order of play data. An internal memory stores order of play data in the disc player. Alternatively, the editing device can be a separate item from the compact disc, to be inserted in a reader on the reproduction system. Another preferred compact disc player plays conventional discs loaded therein by scanning each disc to receive data for identifying the disc. The identifying data can be the number of tracks and the duration of each track on the playing side of the disc.

Abstract: Apparatus for transferring data and other information between a data processing unit and a rectangular memory card which includes an optically readable data memory unit having a succession of substantially concentric data storage tracks thereon, the card also including at least one microelectronic component which stores further information. Such component is connected to connection points on the surface of the card. Data is read from the tracks of the memory unit by optical scanning during rotation of the card about the axis of symmetry of the memory unit, and information is transferred between the microelectronic component and the data processing unit by an information transfer unit which is coupled to the connection points on the card and to the data processing unit.

Abstract: A magnetic data storage system for use with a double sided disk in which a prerecorded pattern of opaque optical lines is used to define the tracks in which magnetic data is to be stored. A separate optical system including an illumination source and a photosensitive detector is provided on a read/write assembly for each side of the disk. Each detector is designed also to serve as a reference grating. The illumination source is designed to image the prerecorded pattern of optical lines on the reference grating as an indication of the alignment of the read/write head of the assembly and a desired data rack and any misalignment of the head and track generates a servo signal. The detector uses four separate photocells interleaved in a prescribed fashion to form a quadrature detector that is adjustable to compensate for various non-uniformities. One form of illumination source uses a surface-emitting light emitting diode and optics for forming a multiple beam source.

Abstract: The present invention intends to record the information which was divisionally recorded on a disk onto a recording medium without a loss of information. The operation of a disk reproducing apparatus for reproducing the information recorded on the disk and the operation of a recording apparatus for recording the information reproduced by the disk reproducing apparatus are synchronously started. When the recording medium of the recording apparatus has reached an end, the reproducing operation of the disk reproducing apparatus is immediately stopped. The header signal of the music divisionally recorded on the disk is searched for by a searching means of the disk reproducing apparatus. The reproducing operation is temporarily stopped. After the recording medium is reversed, the reproduction of the disk reproducing apparatus is restarted from the searched for header signal.

Abstract: A rental control system for controlling the rent and return of cassettes is disclosed. Each cassette internally contains an article such as a recorded information medium, with an IC circuit for storing commodity information concerning the article, and a signal output unit for transferring the commodity information of the IC circuit to outside. For controlling the cassettes, the rent control system further comprises a plurality of shelves and a controller. The plurality of shelves respectively accommodate the cassettes to be controlled. The controller is provided in connection with the plurality of shelves, and includes a plurality of signal input unit for receiving signals from the signal output units of the cassettes, and a memory coupled with the control circuit so as to store signals from the plurality of signal input units.

Abstract: An optical information recording carrier comprising a substrate made of transparent plastic, a high density information recording layer formed on said substrate, and a thin film layer made of inorganic glass and formed between said substrate and said high density information recording layer.

Abstract: A capacitive sensor for detecting capacitive contrast servo information on a disk in a data recording disk file includes a center-tapped inductor connected to a high frequency oscillator, a sensing probe formed on the back side of the slider and electrically coupled to one end of the inductor, and a dummy probe also formed on the back side of the slider and electrically connected to the other end of the inductor. The center-tapped inductor forms a primary coil of a transformer so that variations in capacitance sensed by the sensing probe provide a differential output signal in the inductor which is sensed by the transformer secondary coil. The probes, and their electrically conductive leads and terminal pads, are formed by thin film deposition techniques on the back side of the slider and are located with respect to the inductive read/write head so as to equally receive any noise generated by the read/write head.

Abstract: A digital audio player in which the pieces of music are played according to a program. The program is selected so that the total playing time does not exceed a set period of time. The selection is performed by reading playing times from a disk on which are recorded both the pieces of music and their separate playing times.

Abstract: There is disclosed an information recording and reproducing apparatus which is provided with a disk-shaped recording medium having a recording face allowing information recording and reproduction from both sides; a recording head positioned at a side of the recording face to record information thereon; a reproducing head positioned at the other side of the recording face to reproduce information recorded on the recording face; and a rotary drive unit for independently driving at least two of the disk-shaped recording medium, recording head and reproducing head about a same axis and in the circumferential direction of the recording medium.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for magnetically recording and reproducing information on closely spaced tracks of a magnetic recording member, such as a magnetic record card, tape, disc or other form of record member wherein electro-optical means is employed to precisely locate a magnetic transducer and a magnetic record track of a plurality of such tracks of a magnetic record member. In one form, electro-optical means is also provided for precisely locating a selected portion of the magnetic record track of a multiple track magnetic recording member to permit one or more magnetic transducers to be operatively energized when precisely aligned with such selected portion of record track.

Abstract: A magnetic recording disk is formed on a rigid aluminum substrate coated with a polymeric dielectric layer. A thin film metallic position-indicating track is applied to the upper surface of the dielectric layer. The dielectric material is coated with a magnetic recording medium. A thin film of aluminum forms the patterned capacitive and optically reflective track. The dielectric layer is composed of a very similar material to the matrix material in the magnetic recording medium.The disk can be flexible or floppy and it is not necessary to have the extra dielectric layer in such a case, where the substrate is a dielectric.

Abstract: A magnetic magneto-optic recording structure and method in which a magneto-optic active layer is positioned within the fringing magnetic field of a magnetic recording medium, the structure preferably being disk-shaped. The magneto-optic layer is irradiated by a continuous wave laser beam, by way of a transparent substrate thereon, to locally reduce the coercivity of the magneto-optic layer, so that the magneto-optic layer becomes locally magnetized to align itself with the fringing magnetic fields created by the magnetization pattern of information previously recorded on the magnetic recording layer. The information thus recorded on the magneto-optic layer can be read out with a laser beam of lesser power, employing the Kerr effect.

Abstract: In a magneto-optical recording element comprising a substrate, a magnetic layer and a dielectric layer, the dielectric layer is formed by deposition of a composition comprising Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 and a refractive index-improving agent such as Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 or Y.sub.2 O.sub.3. This dielectric layer has a high refractive index and the enhancement effect is improved. Moreover, this dielectric layer is excellent in the adhesion and resistance characteristics.

Abstract: An optical disc assembly has an optical disc and a protective cover. The optical disc has a surface adapted to have optically recorded thereon data consisting of a series of laser ablated pits recorded as a series of concentric data tracks. The pits have small size and high surface density. The protective cover has a permanent optical recording at one surface thereof consisting of a series of visible marks. The marks are an order of magnitude larger than the pits and have a much lower surface density. Memory data is recorded on the optical disc and positional data, comprising a map of the memory data surface, is recorded on the cover. This allows the use of separate positional data and memory data monitoring channels which facilitates the recording of a blank optical disc and subsequent memory data access.

Abstract: A system and a method for applying a sound track to cinematic film by means of a modulated laser beam.

Abstract: A capacitive variation sensor includes one or more elements providing inductive reactance in the form of thin film coils. This enables a capacitive variation sensor to be integrated on a substrate along with a thin film magnetic read/write head. One element of the capacitive variation sensor is a sensing electrode, and in some embodiments of the invention a dedicated sense electrode can be eliminated by employing the pole tips of the thin film magnetic read/write head as the sense electrode.

Abstract: A system which combines a video tape recorder with a computer in such a manner that these two components each automatically record and display where related information is stored in its own mechanism as well as in its counterpart mechanism. This allows the user to determine the location of all the corresponding data stored both on video tape and on diskette, by examining only one storage medium.

Abstract: The lateral position of a magnetic head is controlled in response to tracking information derived from an adjacent guide track formed by a series of minute pits on a grooveless recording medium having ferromagnetic and dielectric properties. Microwave energy is applied to an electrode mounted for movement with the magnetic head to sense the variations in capacitance resulting from the geometrical variations of the minute pits. The recording medium comprises an underlying layer of ferromagnetic material in which the minute pits are formed in spiral or concentric pattern and an overlying layer of a dielectric material which conforms to the pit contours of the underlying layer.

Abstract: The surface of a magnetic recording disk is encoded with optically sensed indicia, which is employed to control track following of the read/write slider head along a track on a magnetic recording medium such as a disk. The means of reading the medium is to employ a laser carried by the slider which cooperates with the medium as a reflector which affects the lasing function or modulates the operating characteristics of the laser diode. The retro-reflected light changes the operating voltage of the diode. Preferably, the disk is coated with a multiple layer optical recording medium deposited upon the upper surface of the magnetic recording medium.

Abstract: In an automatic music playing apparatus, musical data entered at a keyboard are temporarily stored in a RAM and are sequentially recorded on a magnetic tape. The RAM has a memory capacity larger than the longest musical data to be recorded on the magnetic tape and has memory areas which are all accessed by a CPU. The musical data is then recorded in a predetermined data area on the magnetic tape.

Abstract: A writing, erasing and readout system for a magneto-optic recording medium capable of achieving switching rates approaching the laser pulse rate, including plural diode lasers operating through a single optical path and cooperating with bi-polar magnetic field producing means located adjacent to and on the opposite side of the magneto-optic medium.

Abstract: An information reading/writing head is positioned to follow data tracks that are formed concentrically on a magnetic recording disk. A set of spiral radial position-indicating markings if formed which can be detected on the disk optically, or capacitively. The position of the head is determined by sensing the spiral markings. The reference for the phase detection is detected by sensing radial indicia on the disk periphery or spiral markings of servo data with a different pitch and frequency from the position-indicating spiral markings. A servo control system operated by the above disk, reads the radial position-indicating spiral pattern and the reference pattern on the disk and compares the relative phases of the two to compute the track position of the head. A set of phase-locked loops with subsequent phase comparators is used to decode the servo data.

Abstract: In a magnetooptic reproducing device wherein a light beam polarized in a predetermined direction is incident on a magnetic recording medium and signals recorded on the recording medium are optically read by the utilization of the magnetooptic effect, a polarization component of the signal light from the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to a polarization component in the predetermined direction is relatively increased as compared with the latter component, thereby enhancing the utilization efficiency of the signal light in detection and enabling detection of great S/N ratio or observation of a recorded pattern of high visibility. Also, signal recording as well as reproducing can be accomplished by one common optical system.

Abstract: A magnetic recording disk substrate is provided with a capacitive servo pattern by implanting dopant material in the substrate to modify the substrate conductivity in a desired servo pattern.

Abstract: A reproducible image and information bearing medium, termed herein as a photorecord, includes a visible image bearing media, such as a photographic print, negative, transparency or the like, and an attached information storage medium. The information storage medium such as a magnetic or optical stripe, is encoded with machine readable information that corresponds to the associated visual image. An original photorecord is manufactured by affixing a blank magnetic stripe to the visual image bearing medium optically reading the visual image, converting the so read optical information to an electrical signal, and recording this signal as machine readable information on the magnetic stripe.

Abstract: A main control unit is connected through a selection unit to a magnetic tape memory device and an optical disk memory device. Picture information of a document which is subject to correction or revision is stored together with corresponding index information in the magnetic tape memory device, and picture information which does not require correction or revision is stored together with corresponding index information in the optical disc memory device. Index information for the picture information to be written or read out and also one of the memory devices are specified with a keyboard, which is connected to the main control unit. A reading unit, which is connected to the main control unit, reads out picture information of the document through scanning thereof and supplies the information thus obtained to the main control unit. A recording unit, which is also connected to the main control unit, records picture information supplied from the main control unit on recording sheet.

Abstract: A video disc record having a spiral video record track which can provide reproduced video signals with a desired frame rate such as thirty frames per second while the disc record is rotated at a very low speed such as two revolutions per minute. A preferred transducer machine uses a pulsed light source to supply successive light images to a video camera readout. Control signals are recorded on helical control tracks so that reproduction thereof facilitates the generation of a desired standard video signal from the video camera.

Abstract: A telephone has a built-in answering device comprising an outgoing message store and a control system programmable by pushbuttons for controlling the operational condition and sequence of the answering device. The advantages are compactness and ease of operation.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for achieving improved efficiency and economy in the transfer of information signals from a first to a second recording medium utilizing an optical storage medium as an intermediate transfer medium. Information signals from a first recording medium are reproduced and recorded onto a second recording medium at speeds in the range of 2 to 200 times normal speed.