Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim
61 words
Apparatus (20) for recording and reproducing data on a magnetic recording medium (27), comprising at least one recording head (30, 32) and characterised in that said magnetic head (30, 32) comprises at least two recording and reading gaps (62, 68) of respective lengths and in that switching means (46) are provided for activating one or other of the gaps (62, 68).
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
61 words
Apparatus (20) for recording and reproducing data on a magnetic recording medium (27), comprising at least one recording head (30, 32) and characterised in that said magnetic head (30, 32) comprises at least two recording and reading gaps (62, 68) of respective lengths and in that switching means (46) are provided for activating one or other of the gaps (62, 68).
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
28 words
Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that the length of one of the recording and reading gaps (68) is twice the length of the other gap (62).
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
48 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the head also comprises a pair of erasing gaps (74, 75, 82, 83) for each recording and reading gap (62, 68) and in that the erasing gaps are disposed laterally with respect to the recording and reading gaps.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
45 words
Apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterised in that each of the recording and reading gaps is formed between two portions (60, 61, 66, 67) of a respective magnetic core (50,51), the two magnetic cores being substantially aligned with respect to each other.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
86 words
Apparatus according to any preceding claim, for use with recording media having a plurality of recording tracks (29), characterised in that a positioning mechanism (31, 36, 37, 38, 39) is operable to position said magnetic head (30, 32) with respect to said recording tracks (29) and that control means (42, 43) are operable to control said positioning mechanism to move said magnetic head with respect to the magnetic recording medium by a distance which depends on the recording and reading gap which is selected for use.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
53 words
Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said magnetic recording medium comprises a disc (21), characterised in that said positioning mechanism (31, 36, 37, 38, 39) comprises a carriage (31) on which said magnetic head (30, 32) is mounted and a motor (36) operable to position said carriage radially with respect to said disk.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
52 words
Apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, characterised in that said switching means (46) comprise a diverter which is operable to select a recording and reading gap of the head (30, 31) for use, in dependence on a predetermined density of packing of said recording tracks (29) in said magnetic recording medium.