Magnetic device for nondestructive data store

Claim 1

A DATA STORE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A THIN FILM MEMORY ARRAY INCLUDING ROWS AND COLUMNS OF DISCRETE THIN FERROMAGNETIC FILM STORAGE ELEMENTS, SAID ELEMENTS BEING CAPABLE OF ATTAINING OPPOSED STATES OF RESIDUAL FLUX DENSITY ALONG A PREFERRED AXIS OF MAGNETIZATION, EACH OF SAID ELEMENTS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF DISTINCT REGIONS OF FERROMAGNETIC MATERIAL INCLUDING A CENTRAL REGION HAVING A LESSER ABSOLUTE VALUE OF ANISOTROPY FIELD THEN THAT OF NEIGHBORING REGIONS WHICH ARE CONTIGUOUS WITH SAID CENTRAL REGION ALONG BORDERS THEREOF WHICH LIE SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID PREFERRED AXIS, A PLURALITY OF TRANSVERSE-DRIVE COLUMN CONDUCTORS COUPLED TO THE STORAGE ELEMENTS OF RESPECTIVE ONES OF SAID COLUMNS AND SUBSTANTIALLY ALIGNED WITH SAID PREFERRED AXIS OF MAGNETIZATION, A PLURALITY OF ROW CONDUCTORS COUPLED TO THE STORAGE ELEMENTS OF RESPECTIVE ONES OF SAID ROWS AND SUBSTANTIALLY ORIENTED AT RIGHT ANGLES TO SAID PREFERRED AXIS OF MAGNETIZATION, SAID PLURALITY OF ROW CONDUCTORS INCLUDING RESPECTIVE PLURALITIES OF PARALLEL-DRIVE CONDUCTORS AND SENSE CONDUCTORS, TRANSVERSEDRIVE SELECTION MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID PLURALITY OF COLUMN CONDUCTORS, INFORMATION CURRENT DRIVER MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID PARALLEL DRIVE CONDUCTORS, SENSE AMPLIFIER MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID SENSE CONDUCTORS, CONTROL SIGNAL MEANS, SAID CONTROL SIGNAL MEANS BEING OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO ENABLE SAID TRANSVERSE-DRIVE SELECTION MEANS TO PROVIDE CURRENT FLOW THROUGH A SELECTED ONE OF SAID COLUMN CONDUCTORS THEREBY APPLYING A FIRST TRANSVERSE MAGNETIZING FIELD TO THE STORAGE ELEMENTS IN SAID SELECTED COLUMN, SAID FIRST TRANSVERSE MAGNETIZING FIELD HAVING A MAGNITUDE EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN THE ABSOLUTE VALUE OF THE ANISOTROPY FIELD OF SAID NEIGHBORING SECTIONS OF EACH OF SAID STORAGE ELEMENTS, SAID CONTROL SIGNAL MEANS CONCURRENTLY CAUSING SAID INFORMATION DRIVER MEANS TO PROVIDE RESPECTIVE CURRENT FLOW OF ONE POLARITY OR THE OTHER THROUGH SAID ROW CONDUCTORS THEREBY APPLYING TO THE ROW ELEMENTS COUPLED THERETO A FIRST PARALLEL MAGNETIZING FIELD IN ONE DIRECTION OR THE OTHER ALONG SAID PREFERRED AXIS, THE RESPECTIVE PREDETERMINED STATES ATTAINED BY THE STORAGE ELEMENTS SITUATED IN SAID SELECTED COLUMN UPON THE CESSATION OF SAID FIRST TRANSVERSE MAGNETIZING FIELD BEING DETERMINED BY THE DIRECTION OF SAID FIRST PARALLEL MAGNETIZING FIELD, SUBSTANTIALLY ALL OF THE MAGNETIC DIPOLES OF EACH OF SAID LAST STORAGE ELEMENTS BEING ORIENTED IN THE SAME DIRECTION WHEREBY SAID ELEMENTS CONSTITUTE LARGE LOCKING DOMAINS OF SAID PREDETERMINED STATES, SAID CONTROL SIGNAL MEANS BEING OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO ENABLE SAID TRANSVERSE-DRIVE SELECTION MEANS TO PROVIDE CURRENT FLOW THROUGH SAID SELECTED COLUMN CONDUCTOR THEREBY APPLYING A SECOND TRANSVERSE MAGNETIZING FIELD TO EACH OF THE STORAGE ELEMENTS IN SAID SELECTED COLUMN, SAID SECOND TRANSVERSE MAGNETIZING FIELD HAVING A MAGNITUDE APPROXIMATELY EQUAL TO THE ABSOLUTE VALUE OF THE ANISTROPY FIELD OF THE CENTRAL REGION OF EACH OF SAID STORAGE ELEMENTS, THE DIRECTION OF MAGNETIZATION OF THE CENTRAL REGION OF EACH OF THE ELEMENTS IN SAID SELECTED COLUMN BEING ROTATED TO A MAGNETICALLY UNSTABLE POSITION IN RESPONSE TO SAID SECOND TRANSVERSE FIELD, THE MAGNETIZATION OF SAID NEIGHBORING REGIONS OF SAID PREDETERMINED STATE BEING SUBSTANTIALLY UNAFFECTED BY SAID SECOND TRANSVERSE FIELD, THE DEMAGNETIZING FIELDS ORIGINATING FROM THE DIPOLES WITHIN SAID NEIGHBORING REGIONS TENDING TO CAUSE THE DIRECTION OF MAGNETIZATION OF SAID CENTRAL REGION TO ROTATE TO STATES OPPOSITE TO SAID PREDETERMINED STATES, SAID CENTRAL REGIONS CONSTITUTING CENTRAL DOMAINS OF ONE STATE BORDERED BY NEIGHBORING REGIONS CONSTITUTING NEIGHBORING DOMAINS OF OPPOSITE STATE.