Sensor array for reading data from a storage medium, storage device and method of reading data from a storage medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9711169-B2
Application number	US-201414913129-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 26, 2014
Priority date	Aug 26, 2013
Publication date	Jul 18, 2017
Grant date	Jul 18, 2017

Abstract

According to embodiments of the present invention, a sensor array for reading data from a storage medium including a plurality of tracks is provided. The sensor array includes a first sensor, and a second sensor, wherein the first sensor and the second sensor are configured to obtain signals from adjacent tracks of the plurality of tracks of the storage medium, the signals being associated with data stored at the adjacent tracks. According to further embodiments of the present invention, a storage device and a method of reading data from a storage medium including a plurality of tracks are also provided.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sensor array for reading data from a storage medium comprising a plurality of tracks, the sensor array comprising:
a first sensor;
a second sensor; and
a third sensor,
wherein the first sensor, the second sensor, and the third sensor are configured to obtain signals from adjacent tracks of the plurality of tracks of the storage medium, the signals being associated with data stored at the adjacent tracks;
wherein the first sensor, the second sensor, and the third sensor are arranged coaxially along a second direction;
wherein the second sensor is arranged between the first sensor and the third sensor along the second direction;
wherein the second sensor partially overlaps each of the first sensor and the third sensor along a first direction;
wherein the first sensor, the second sensor, and the third sensor are spaced apart from each other along the second direction;
wherein the first direction extends perpendicular to the plurality of tracks; and
wherein the second direction extends perpendicular to the first direction,
wherein the sensor array includes only the first, second, and third sensors.

2. The sensor array as claimed in claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first sensor or the second sensor is dimensioned to have a width that is larger than a width of one track of the adjacent tracks.

3. The sensor array as claimed in claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first sensor or the second sensor is dimensioned to have a width that ranges from less than a width of one track of the adjacent tracks to less than a total width of the adjacent tracks.

4. The sensor array as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first sensor and the third sensor completely overlap each other along the first direction.

5. The sensor array as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each of the first sensor and the third sensor is configured to obtain signals from same two tracks of the adjacent tracks.

6. The sensor array as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first sensor, the second sensor, and the third sensor are configured to obtain the signals from three adjacent tracks.

7. The sensor array as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a data determination circuit configured to determine data stored in a track of the adjacent tracks based on the signals obtained by the first sensor, the second sensor, and the third sensor.

8. The sensor array as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first sensor, the second sensor, and the third sensor are configured to read two tracks in parallel; and wherein the first sensor and the third sensor are configured to simultaneously read one track of the two tracks.

Assignees

• Marvell Int Ltd

Inventors

• Han Guchang
• Yuan Zhimin
• Alexopoulos Pantelis Sophoclis

Classifications

• G11B5/29 Primary

  Structure or manufacture of unitary devices formed of plural heads for more than one track {(G11B5/33, G11B5/49 and subgroups take precedence; in thin film structure G11B5/31)} · CPC title

• G11B5/3945

  Heads comprising more than one sensitive element · CPC title

• G11B5/012

  Recording on, or reproducing or erasing from, magnetic disks (G11B17/00, G11B19/00 take precedence) · CPC title

• G11B5/4886

  relative to rotating disc · CPC title

• G11B5/3977

  from different information tracks · CPC title