Information-reading method

Claim 1

An information reading and writing method for reading data from and for writing data onto a card-like recording medium which is scanned in a first scanning direction and a second scanning direction opposite to the first scanning direction, the method comprising: providing at least one linear information track on said card-like recording medium; delineating a data section for storing modulated data in said at least one linear information track, said data section having first and second end portions; delineating first and second address sections each storing modulated address data, respectively on each of said first and second end portions of said data section; providing first and second guide sections respectively adjacent to said first and said second address sections; the first guide section being positioned to be scanned before the first address section, and the second guide section being positioned to be scanned before the second address section when said at least one linear information track is scanned in said first scanning direction; reading said address data out of each of said first and second address sections by scanning at least one linear information track in said first scanning direction; demodulating said modulated data in said data section and said first and second address sections in said at least one linear information track as said linear information track is scanned in said first and second scanning directions; serially storing the address data in said first address section in a first serial order; serially storing the address data in said second address section in a second serial order which is the same as said first serial order; and serially demodulating the address data in said first and second address sections, comparing the thus read out address data from each of said address sections of said at least one linear information track with each other, to detect errors therebetween.