Data retrieval systems

• US 20070058505A1
• Filed: 09/09/2005
• Published: 03/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Searete LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Ferren, Bran, Jung, Edward
• Granted Patent: US 7,565,596 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 369/47.410
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/79 in semiconductor storage media, e.g. directly-addressable memories
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/80 in storage media based on magnetic or optical technology, e.g. disks with sectors preventing unauthorised reproduction or copying of disc-type recordable media G11B20/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2143 Clearing memory, e.g. to prevent the data from being stolen
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/122 involving the detection of an identification or authentication mark record carriers indicating unauthorised or prior use G11B23/28
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/26 Speed-changing arrangements; Reversing arrangements; Drive-transfer means therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00086 Circuits for prevention of unauthorised reproduction or copying, e.g. piracy indicating unauthorised use of record carriers in general G11B23/28; scrambling for television signal recording H04N5/913; network architectures or network protocols for network security H04L63/00; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00195 using a device identifier associated with the player or recorder, e.g. serial numbers of playback apparatuses or MAC addresses
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00253 wherein the key is stored on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00608 wherein the material that the record carrier is made of is altered, e.g. adding reactive dyes that alter the optical properties of a disc after prolonged exposure to light or air
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00782 wherein the usage restriction limits the number of times a program can be installed
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00797 wherein the usage restriction limits the number of times a content can be reproduced, e.g. using playback counters
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/0084 wherein the usage restriction can be expressed as a specific time or date
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00876 wherein physical copy protection means are attached to the medium, e.g. holograms, sensors, or additional semiconductor circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00927 wherein said defects or errors are generated on purpose, e.g. intended scratches

Abstract

Embodiments of methods and systems for controlling access to information stored on memory or data storage devices are disclosed. In various embodiments, methods of retrieving information from a data storage device previously deactivated by modification or degradation of at least a portion of the data storage device are disclosed.

Claims

1. A data recovery device comprising:

a receptacle adapted to receive a data storage device;

a read head positionable within the receptacle to read data from an expired data storage device received within the receptacle;

a first sensor located on the read head for sensing data from the data storage device; and

a controller configured to control at least one of the position of the read head position, operation of the first sensor, or processing of sensed data to recover data from at least a portion of an expired data storage device.

2. The data recovery device of claim 1, including a controller configured to control the position of the read head to locate the read head over at least one degraded data portion of an expired data storage device.

3. The data recovery device of claim 2, including a controller configured to scan the read head over the degraded data portion at a reduced scan speed relative to the scan speed of a general purpose read device, wherein data in the degraded data portion is readable at the reduced scan speed but not at the scan speed of a general purpose read device.

4. The data recovery device of claim 2, including a controller configured to perform a moving average on data read from the degraded data portion, the degraded data portion having a reduced signal-to-noise ratio relative to the signal-to-noise ratio of the data portion prior to degradation, to produce an improved signal-to-noise ratio in the data signal.

5. The data recovery device of claim 2, including a controller configured to use an error-detection code to detect one or more errors from data read from the degraded data portion, the degraded data portion have an increased bit error rate relative to the bit error rate of the data portion prior to degradation.

6. The data recovery device of claim 5, including a controller configured to use an error-correction code to correct detected errors in data read from the degraded data portion.

9. The data recovery device of claim 2, including a controller configured to control read head position to locate a read head over two or more degraded data portions of an expired data storage device and to average two or more degraded data sets read from the two or more data portions to produce a data set having an improved signal-to-noise ratio.

10. The data recovery device of claim 1, including a controller configured to control read head position to locate a read head over a non-degraded portion of an expired data storage device that includes a non-degraded portion including data of interest and a degraded portion that prior to expiration included read-support information necessary for reading the data of interest and to recover read-support information from one or more locations within the non-degraded portion, wherein the read-support information is located at the one or more locations interspersed with the data of interest.

18. The data recovery device of claim 1, including a second sensor adapted to read information from a different type of data storage medium than said first sensor.

45. The data recovery device of claim 5, wherein the error-detection code includes at least one of a parity function or a Reed-Solomon code.

46. The data recovery device of claim 1, including a controller configured to control read head position to position the read head over a non-degraded portion of an expired data storage device that includes read-support information necessary for reading the data of interest encoded at a different spatial frequency or stored at a different level than the data of interest and to read the read-support information from the non-degraded portion of the expired data storage device.

47. The data recovery device of claim 1, wherein the first sensor is an optical sensor adapted to sense an optical signal from an optical data storage device or a magnetic sensor adapted to sense a magnetic signal from a magnetic data storage device.

48. The data recovery device of claim 47, including a second sensor adapted to sense information from an optical data storage medium at a different optical wavelength than the wavelength used by the first sensor, at a different depth level of the expired data storage device than is read by the first sensor, or from a different side of an optical data storage medium than is sensed by the first sensor.

49. The data recovery device of claim 18, wherein the second sensor is adapted to read information from at least one of an RFID or a resonant circuit on the expired data storage device.

50. The data recovery device of claim 18, wherein the second sensor is an optical sensor or a magnetic sensor.

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23. A data recovery system comprising:

a read head;

a sensor;

drive control hardware; and

drive control software;

wherein at least one of the drive control hardware and drive control software is configured to recover read-support information from an expired data storage device and to read data of interest from the information.

26. The data recovery system of claim 23, including decoding hardware or software configured to decode encoded read-support information recovered from an expired data storage device.

27. The data recovery system of claim 26, including decoding hardware or software that includes a function

32. The data recovery system of claim 26, including decoding software that includes a table-lookup operation for decoding read-support information stored in multiple locations on the expired data storage device, said multiple locations stored in a lookup table used by the table-lookup operation.

51. The data recovery system of claim 23, wherein the read head is an optical read head or a magnetic read head.

52. The data recovery system of claim 26, including decoding hardware or software that includes at least one of a HASH function or a decryption function.

53. The data recovery system of claim 52, including decoding hardware or software that includes at least one of a public key decryption function or a symmetric key decryption function.

54. The data recovery system of claim 23, including drive control hardware configured to control at least one of the speed at which read-support information is read from an expired data storage device and the level of the data storage device from read read-support information is read.

55. The data recovery system of claim 23, including drive control hardware configured to adjust the spatial frequency at which read-support information is read from the expired data storage device, perform signal averaging of multiple copies of low signal-to-noise ratio read-support information read from an expired data storage device, or recover secondary read-support information distributed in the data of interest.

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39. Computer program comprising:

instructions for performing an interrogation activity with a data read device;

instructions for detecting a read response from a data storage device in response to the interrogation activity with the data read device;

instructions for comparing a detected read response with an expected data range, and if the read response is within the expected data range, reading data according to a first data read protocol or if the read response is outside the expected data range, reading data according to a second data read protocol performable by special-purpose hardware or software.

56. The computer program of claim 39, wherein the second data read protocol is performable by at least one of special-purpose software or special-purpose hardware

57. The computer program of claim 56, wherein the second data read protocol is performable by special-purpose software that controls at least one of the scan rate or read location of a data read device performing the second data read protocol to provide a reduced scan rate or different read location with the second data read protocol relative to the first data read protocol.

58. The computer program of claim 56, wherein the second data read protocol is performable by special purpose hardware that permits reading of data having a reduced signal-to-noise ratio relative to data readable with general purpose hardware.

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