To anybody going to any of the remaining stops on the AXC roadshow:
Can you do us all a favor by asking Bramson about Patent No. 5,585,977 and his timetable for bringing this recording design to market?
Patent# 5,585,977 - Recording/reproducing apparatus and method embodying a unique scanning magnetic transducer (invented by Beverley R. Gooch, filed on 8/7/95 and approved on 12/17/96).
Some non-technical observations about this patent and its potential:
1) The patent describes the architecture of a recording device combining elements of helical scan and solid-state scanning recording.
In helical scan, the read/write operations are performed by essentially wrapping the tape around a rotating and moving cylinder drum. The traditional achilles heel of helical scan has always been the heavy wear and tear of the heads and media that ultimately translates into a cost disadvantage that reduces the appeal of its superior capacity and throughput vis-a-vis the other tape formats.
The patent describes innovations that essentially reduces this weakness in the format by moving the read/write heads to stationary poles positioned strategically near the tape as it moves past the rotating cylinder. By positioning the heads this way, Gooch claims that the complexity of the read/write heads and its associated electronics can be reduced and performance can be enhanced.
2) There is also a reference in the patent to a 1/2 inch format (19mm = 3/4 inch) that raises the possibility that AXC may be positioning itself to participate in the compact tape market (1/2", 8mm, 6mm, 4mm,
DAT, QIC) which is much bigger - in terms of unit volumes - than the current ultra-high end segment in which DST competes.
3) In addition to his KM-related and solid-state scanning recorder patents, Gooch also has patent #5,189,580 - Ultra small track width thin film magnetic transducer -which I think was key to AXC's ability to introduce its double density products. I initially though that AXC got the additional capacity by using thinner tape and simply using more of it in a cartridge. After reading the double density white paper (thanks James for the alert), it turns out that they are getting the additional capacity by using smaller heads with the ability to read/write 50% smaller tracks.
Keying off Bramson's repeated comments about having technology beyond keepered media, I have been focusing on what seems to be pieces - partitioning, error correction, system zones, solid state scanning,
read-after-write, KM, double density, etc.. - that AXC can easily put together to participate in yet another mass market, yet another new revenue stream. In particular, this patent describes a design that, while it departs sharply from the traditional helical design, is acutally claimed to be cheaper and simpler to implement because it reduces the parts count and the complexity of components that AXC already uses in its current product line. I am not too clear about this part but I also get the sense that this new design retains much of the capacity and speed advantages of helical scan.
There is also the possibility that this new platform could include Gooch's latest iteration of his attempts to adapt keepered media to tape. While pure conjecture at this point, it does raise once again the possibility (first claimed in the KM patents and sighted in some of Gooch's other patents) that KM's potential extends beyond just the disk drive industry to include the substantial tape storage industry, where growth projections take into account the razor and cartridges nature of the business. Anyone remember the CNBC show where Kim Edwards of Iomega held up a ZIP disk to the camera and solemnly intoned, "...this is our annuity!" Not totally analagous, of course, but you get the picture.
At any rate, it is prudent to assume that commercial products from this patent may be years away. It is also fair to say that the dynamics of the tape market are different from that of disk drives simply because tape is essentially unlimited storage while there are clear physical limits to disk drive capacity. At the very least, though, we have one more technology to track and attempt to value.
Have a good week, folks!
Gus
P.S. Excellent points, Hal! I wonder, though, how the non-disclosure agreements will play. Separately, I have to remind myself every now and then that AXC has always been a company that has always developed technology with potential that seduces. It is useful to remember that this is a company that is the subject of at least 2 academic studies that revolve around the "why technology leaders fail" theme simply because it has failed repeatedly to translate its technology lead into mass market success. Are things different this time? |
