Data storage system with coarse and fine directing means

Claim 2

In a data storage system including a storage medium comprising respective groups of spaced and parallel data tracks each having a plurality of distributed electromagnetic beam responsive storage locations capable of being set either to a first or second discrete state, there being many data tracks in each group of data tracks; and a source of a beam of electromagnetic energy to which said data tracks are responsive; the improvement comprising data transfer apparatus for directing said beam of electromagnetic energy onto a selected data track on said storage medium comprising: coarse beam directing means for selectively directing said beam along any one of a plurality of parallel spaced beam paths respectively spaced from the adjacent paths by effective distances corresponding to the distances spanned by said respective groups of data tracks on said storage medium; and fine beam directing means for selectively directing said beam directed by said coarse beam directing means along any of said respective parallel spaced beam paths onto any of the data tracks of the associated group of data tracks of said storage medium; said coarse beam directing means including first reflector means for varying the angular direction of the beam incrementally and second reflector means for redirecting the beam from the first reflector means along said parallel spaced paths.

Claim 3

Apparatus as defined in claim 1 including data source means for providing signals identifying the data track to be selected, and decoder means responsive to the signals for operating the coarse and fine beam directing means.

Claim 4

Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the second reflector means is parabolic in shape, said first reflector means being effectively disposed at the focus of the second reflector means.

Claim 5

Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the fine beam directing means includes beam deflecting means disposed proximate and across said respective groups of data tracks for directing said beam incident thereon from any one of said parallel spaced paths onto a selected track in any of said groups of tracks on said storage medium, and means for effecting progressive relative movement between said beam deflecting means and said storage medium in a direction transverse to the individual tracks in the group involved.

Claim 6

In a data storage system including a disc storage medium comprising respective groups of spaced and parallel data tracks disposed in concentric circles on the disc, each track having a plurality of distributed electromagnetic beam responsive storage locations capable of being set either to a first or second discrete state, there being many data tracks in each group of data tracks; and a source of a beam of electromagnetic energy to which said data tracks are responsive; the improvement comprising data transfer apparatus for directing said beam of electromagnetic energy onto a selected data track on said storage medium comprisIng: coarse beam directing means for selectively directing said beam along any one of a plurality of parallel spaced beam paths respectively spaced from the adjacent paths by effective distances corresponding to the distances spanned by said respective groups of data tracks on said storage medium; and fine beam directing means for selectively directing said beam directed by said coarse beam directing means along any of said respective beam paths onto any of the data tracks of the associated group of data tracks of said storage medium; said fine beam directing means including a reflector disposed proximate and across the disc in a skewed fashion relative to a radius of the disc.

Claim 7

In a data storage system including a disc storage medium comprising respective groups of spaced and parallel data tracks disposed in concentric circles on the disc, each track having a plurality of distributed electromagnetic beam responsive storage locations capable of being set either to a first or second discrete state, there being many data tracks in each group of data tracks; and a source of a beam of electromagnetic energy to which said data tracks are responsive; the improvement comprising data transfer apparatus for directing said beam of electromagnetic energy onto a selected data track on said storage medium comprisIng: coarse beam directing means for selectively directing said beam along any one of a plurality of parallel spaced beam paths respectively spaced from the adjacent paths by effective distances corresponding to the distances spanned by said respective groups of data tracks on said storage medium; and fine beam directing means for selectively directing said beam directed by said coarse beam directing means along any of said respective beam paths onto any of the data tracks of the associated group of data tracks of said storage medium; said fine beam directing means including a reflector disposed proximate and across the disc in a skewed fashion relative to a radius of the disc.

Claim 8

In a data storage system including a storage medium comprising respective groups of spaced and parallel data tracks each having a plurality of distributed electromagnetic beam responsive storage locations capable of being set either to a first or second discrete state, there being many data tracks in each group of data tracks; and a source of a beam of electromagnetic energy to which said data tracks are responsive; the improvement comprising data transfer apparatus for directing said beam of electromagnetic energy onto a selected data track on said storage medium comprising: coarse beam directing means for selectively directing said beam along any one of a plurality of parallel spaced beam paths respectively spaced from the adjacent paths by effective distances corresponding to the distances spanned by said respective groups of data tracks on said storage medium; and fine beam directing means for selectively directing said beam deflected by said coarse beam directing means along any of said respective beam paths onto any of the data tracks of the associated group of data tracks of said storage medium, said fine beam directing means including beam reflecting means disposed proximate and across said respective groups of data tracks for directing said beam incident thereon from any one of said spaced parallel beam paths onto a selected track in any of said groups of tracks on said storage medium and a plurality of spaced lenses between the beam reflecting means and the tracks and equal in number to the number of said groups.

Claim 9

In a data storage system including a storage medium comprising respective groups of spaced and parallel data tracks each having a plurality of distributed electromagnetic beam responsive storage locations capable of being set either to a first or second discrete state, there being many data tracks in each group of data tracks; and a source of a beam of electromagnetic energy to which said data tracks are responsive; the improvement comprising data transfer apparatus for directing said beam of electromagnetic energy onto a selected data track on said storage medium comprising: coarse beam directing means for selectively directing said beam along any one of a plurality of parallel spaced beam paths respectively spaced from the adjacent paths by effective distances corresponding to the distances spanned by said respective groups of data tracks on said storage medium; and fine beam directing means for selectively directing said beam deflected by said coarse beam directing means along any of said respective beam paths onto any of the data tracks of the associated group of data tracks of said storage medium, said fine beam directing means including beam reflecting means disposed proximate and across said respective groups of data tracks for directing said beam incident thereon from any one of said spaced parallel beam paths onto a selected track in any of said groups of tracks on said storage medium and a plurality of spaced lenses between the beam reflecting means and the tracks and equal in number to the number of said groups.

Claim 10

Apparatus as defined in claim 6 including means for displacing the beam reflecting means along an axis transverse to said spaced paths.

Claim 11

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said beam reflecting means and lenses are carried on a common support structure which is movable transverse to said independent tracks.

Claim 12

In a data storage system including a storage medium comprising respective groups of spaced and parallel data tracks each track having a plurality of distributed electromagnetic beam responsive storage locations capable of being set either to a first or second discrete state, there being many data tracks in each group of data tracks; and a source of a beam of electromagnetic energy to which said data tracks are responsive; the improvement comprising data transfer apparatus for directing said beam of electromagnetic energy onto a selected data track on said storage medium comprising: coarse beam directing means including pivotably mounted means for selectively directing said beam from said electro-magnetic energy source along any one of a plurality of spaced beam paths which, at given points along the beam paths, are respectively spaced from the adjacent paths by effective distances corresponding to the distances spanned by said respective groups of data tracks on said storage medium, and fine beam directing means for selectively directing said beam directed by said coarse beam directing means onto any of the data tracks of the associated group of data tracks of said storage medium, said fine beam directing means including means for effecting progressive transverse relative movement between a beam from said beam directing means and the individual tracks in the group involved, and means for effecting progressive relative movement between said fine beam directing Means and said storage medium in the direction along the track struck by the beam involved.

Claim 13

In a data storage system including a storage medium comprising respective groups of spaced and parallel data tracks each track having a plurality of distributed electromagnetic beam responsive storage locations capable of being set either to a first or second discrete state, there being many data tracks in each group of data tracks; and a source of a beam of electromagnetic energy to which said data tracks are responsive; the improvement comprising data transfer apparatus for directing said beam of electromagnetic energy onto a selected data track on said storage medium comprising: coarse beam directing means including pivotably mounted means for selectively directing said beam from said electro-magnetic energy source along any one of a plurality of spaced beam paths which, at given points along the beam paths, are respectively spaced from the adjacent paths by effective distances corresponding to the distances spanned by said respective groups of data tracks on said storage medium, and fine beam directing means for selectively directing said beam directed by said coarse beam directing means onto any of the data tracks of the associated group of data tracks of said storage medium, said fine beam directing means including means for effecting progressive transverse relative movement between a beam from said beam directing means and the individual tracks in the group involved, and means for effecting progressive relative movement between said fine beam directing Means and said storage medium in the direction along the track struck by the beam involved.

Claim 14

The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said storage locations of said storage medium are selectively settable at any time to either one of said discrete states by the application of electromagnetic energy thereto and remain in its set state after removal of all sources of energy therefrom.

Claim 15

The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said first and second discrete states of said storage locations of said storage medium respectively have substantially different beam directing qualities, and said beam of electromagnetic energy in only one of said states is directed by such storage locations in given discrete paths, and there is provided detector means for receiving energy directed by said storage locations of said storage medium when directed in said discrete paths.

Claim 16

The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said coarse beam directing means includes reflector means parabolic in shape and said pivorably mounted means is located at the focus of said parabolic reflector means.

Claim 17

Apparatus as defined in claim 9 including a data storage medium for said tracks, the medium having an optically mutable surface.

Claim 18

Apparatus as defined in claim 13 wherein the medium includes a reflective surface adjacent and parallel to the mutable surface.

Claim 19

Apparatus as defined in claim 9 including detector means responsive to the beam as affected by the storage locations for determining the data content thereof.

Claim 20

Apparatus as defined in claim 15 wherein the detector means includes an input portion adjacent said medium for receiving the beam through the data tracks.

Claim 21

Apparatus as defined in claim 15 wherein the detector means receives the beam as reflected from the data tracks.

Claim 22

Apparatus as defined in claim 17 including an optical beam source as said source of electromagnetic energy, a beam splitter in the beam path for transmitting the beam from the beam source to the coarse beam directing means and reflecting the beam reflected from the storage medium, the detector means being disposed to receive the beam as reflected from the beam splitter.