SIGNAL TRANSFERRING

1454290 Data storage systems INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP 19 Dec 1973 [26 Dec 1972] 58903/73 Heading G4C A counter counts signals written in to a buffer store, and a second counter counts signals read from the store. The difference in the counter outputs is used to detect the end of a sequence of signals passed to the store and to determine whether a predetermined number of signals is present in the store. In the embodiment described the signals are data bytes which are to be recorded in groups of seven parallel-bit bytes on multi-track magnetic tape. Each recorded group includes a check byte and check bits. The counters both count modulo-32 and respectively specify which of the 32 addresses in the buffer shall receive or supply a byte. If the difference count is greater than 6 a full group of data bytes is in the buffer. The group is transferred as a burst of bytes to another buffer leading to an encoding circuit which feeds the recorder write-in circuit. If the difference count becomes less than 7, indicating that there are insufficient input signals to complete the final group, the generation of padding signals and an end of record group is initiated. The padding signals fill the incomplete group. The number of data bytes in that group, as indicated by the count difference, is recorded with a check byte group which follows the end of record group. The modulo-32 count of the total number of data bytes is also recorded with the check group. Signals read from the tape pass to decoding circuits which pass decoded data bytes to storage from which they are read in bursts of 7 bytes to the buffer, under the control at the write counter. The data bytes are read byte by byte from the buffer to, for example, a data processor. Read-out from the buffer is stopped when the read counter shows the same value as that of the modulo-32 count in the check group. Should read-out from the tape be in the backward direction write-in to the buffer is started when the appropriate number of padding bits has been read out, as determined by reference to the difference count in the check group.