Format control for disk recording

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE FLOW OF DATA TO AND FROM A ROTATING DISK FILE HAVING A PLURALITY OF MAGNETIZABLE DISKS, EACH OF SAID DISKS HAVING AT LEAST ONE MAGNETIZABLE SURFACE FOR MAGNETIC RECORDING IN A PLURALITY OF CONCENTRIC TRACKS, COMPRISING A FORMAT TRANSDUCER AND A PLURALITY OF DATA TRANSDUCERS FOR COOPERATING WITH SAID MAGNETIZABLE SURFACES, SAID TRANSDUCERS BEING ADAPTED TO MOVE AS A UNIT TO DIFFERENT POSITIONS TO COOPERATE WITRH DIFFERENT ONES OF SAID CONCENTRIC TRACKS, THOSE TRACKS ASSOCIATED WITH ANY GIVEN POSITION OF SAID TRANSDUCERS DEFINING A CYLINDER OF TRACKS, A FORMAT SURFACE ON ONE OF SAID DISKS, SAID FORMAT SURFACE HAVING THEREON A PLURALITY OF FORMAT TRACKS EACH SAID FORMAT TRACK COMPRISING ONE SAID CONCENTRIC TRACK, EACH SAID FORMAT TRACK ON SAID FORMAT SURFACE COMPRISING A PATTERN OF A PLURALITY OF MAGNETIC BITS WITH GAPS THEREBETWEEN FOR ESTABLISHING THE NUMBER AND THE LENGTH OF RECORDS IN ALL TRACKS WITHIN THAT CYLINDER OF TRACKS INCLUDING SAID-RECITED FORMAT TRACK, MEANS FOR SENSING SAID GAPS ON SAID FORMAT SURFACE TRACKS BY SAID FORMAT TRANSDUCER ASSOCIATED WITH SAID FORMAT SURFACE, AND MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE FLOW OF DAT TO THE TRACKS IN ANY GIVEN CYLINDER OF TRACKS IN RESPONSE TO THE ARRANGEMENT OF SAID GAPS ON THE FORMAT TRACK ASSOCIATED WITH SAID GIVEN CYLINDER, WHEREBY A PLURALITY OF RECORDS HAVING DISCRETE LENGTHS MAY BE STORED IN SAID GIVEN CYLINDER.