JP2003346416A - Data recording and reproducing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data recording and reproducing apparatus shifting itself to any of a plurality of internal operating states after end of transfer of data to/from a host to reduce the processing of the host side. <P>SOLUTION: A data transfer end decision making processing 101 of decision whether or not transfer of data to the host is finished is conducted and whether or not the state is shifted to a predetermined halt state, that is, transition to an inoperative state at an intermittent access is discriminated when the transfer of data is finished, a decision making processing 102 of first decision whether or not the halt state is an on-track state is conducted and the processing is ended as it is when in the on-track state; an unload processing 103 of shifting the state to an idle state is conducted when not; a decision making processing 104 whether or not the halt state is an idle state is conducted and the processing is ended when the halt state is the idle state; and a spin-down processing 105 of shifting to a standby state is conducted and the processing is ended because the halt state is the standby state when not. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data recording / reproducing apparatus for recording / reproducing data on / from a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a data recording / reproducing apparatus, one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-12781 is known.

The conventional data recording / reproducing apparatus described in the above-mentioned publication is provided with a power consumption control circuit for instructing each circuit to enter a low power consumption state or an active state according to an operation state, thereby reducing power consumption. Has been realized.

[0004] Further, as another data recording / reproducing apparatus,
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-259873 is known.

In the conventional data recording / reproducing apparatus described in the above-mentioned publication, the data transfer speed a in the recording / reproducing means to / from the information recording medium and the data transfer speed b in the processing means for processing the data have a data transfer speed a> There is a relationship of data transfer speed b, and when configuring a device that has storage means between both means and continuously processes and records / reproduces data, even if the processing means is a continuous operation, the recording / reproducing means does not operate. The control means is configured to be able to select two states, a low power consumption state in which an intermittent operation in which a temporary stop is performed, and a high seismic resistance state in which an operation is not stopped, thereby effectively using a power supply.

FIG. 2 shows a well-known configuration of a hard disk device as one of data recording / reproducing devices, and FIG. 3 shows a state transition of the hard disk device.

In FIG. 2, a hard disk drive includes a host interface unit 202 for controlling an interface with a host, and a buffer 203 for temporarily storing input / output data.
And a buffer control unit 204 for controlling the buffer 203
, A disk control unit 205 that controls input and output of data to and from the hard disk 212, and an ECC (Erro
r Correction Code) control unit 206, servo control unit 207 for controlling the motor, disk central control unit 208 composed of a microprocessor and the like, modulation of data recorded on hard disk 212 and hard disk 2
A read / write signal processing unit 209 for demodulating the reproduced data from the read / write unit 12, a magnetic head seek arm 210,
VCM (Voice Coil Motor) 21 that drives a head 211, a hard disk 212, and a magnetic head seek arm
3 and SPM (Spindle Motor) to rotate the hard disk
214, and a motor driver 215 for operating the VCM 213 and the SPM 214. The exchange of input / output data 201 with the host is performed via the host interface unit 202.

As shown in FIG. 3, immediately after power-on 301,
The hard disk device shown in FIG.
become. In this state, only the disk central control unit 208 and the host interface unit 202 need to operate.

Then, in accordance with a command from a host (not shown), a spin-up process 304 is performed, the disk 212 is rotated, and a transition is made to an idle state 305. In this state, the servo control unit 207 and the motor driver 21
5. The SPM 214 has also been activated.

Next, a load process 307 for moving the head 211 and the magnetic head seek arm 210 onto the hard disk 212 is performed, and a seek process 308 for moving the head 211 and the magnetic head seek arm 210 to a predetermined position is performed. In this state, the VCM 213 is also activated, and the read / write signal processing unit 209 and the disk control unit 205 are also activated.

Next, the read processing 310 or the write processing 31
1, the ECC control unit 206, the buffer control unit 204, and the buffer 203 are also activated at this time.

When the read processing 310 or the write processing 311 is completed, the state transits from the on-track state 309 to the unload processing 306, further transits from the unload processing 306 to the idle state 305, and further transits to the idle state 305.
5 from standby state 3 by spin-down processing 303
Transition to 02.

As described above, the hard disk drive has operating states such as a standby state, an idle state, an on-track state, and the like, and the magnitude of power consumption is a standby state <idle state <on-track state. . The time until data transfer becomes possible is in the relationship of standby state> idle state> on-track state.

The hard disk drive receives a command from the host and performs a transition to an idle state and a transition to a standby state as a power management function for maintaining a low power consumption state.

[0015]

However, in a conventional data recording / reproducing apparatus, when an intermittent access is attempted to be used for a device having a plurality of operating states inside, such as a hard disk device, data transfer is not possible. The non-operating state at the time of intermittent access had to be selected according to the rate, and the host had to appropriately select which state to transition to.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and it is intended that the apparatus itself transitions to any of a plurality of internal operation states after data transfer to or from the host is completed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a data recording / reproducing device capable of reducing the processing of the above.

[0017]

A data recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a recording means for recording data on an information recording medium and a reproducing means for reproducing data from the information recording medium. In a data recording / reproducing device having a plurality of internal operation states according to a non-operation state,
It is provided with a control means for controlling which of the plurality of internal operation states is shifted to after the end of data transfer to or from the host.

Thus, after the end of a series of data transfer, the host can change the state on the data recording / reproducing apparatus side without issuing a command for changing the state each time. Can be reduced.

Further, the data recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention comprises a recording means for recording data on the information recording medium and a reproducing means for reproducing data from the information recording medium, and operates and blocks each of the internal blocks. In a data recording / reproducing device having a plurality of internal operation states according to the situation, predict the timing at which the next data transfer request command comes from the host,
It has a configuration including control means for controlling in advance which of the plurality of internal operation states is to be shifted.

As a result, the host can issue a data transfer command without considering the time until the data recording / reproducing device can transfer data and output data, thereby reducing the processing on the host. And the response of the data recording / reproducing apparatus can be improved.

Further, the data recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention
There is a setting means for setting a data transfer rate by an external setting, and which of the plurality of internal operating states is controlled in accordance with the set transfer rate.

This makes it possible to finely control the transition state during non-operation and the timing to start transition to the operation state according to the set transfer rate.

Further, the data recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention
Rate detection means for detecting a transfer rate of input / output data from input / output data or a data transfer command, and controlling which one of the plurality of internal operation states is shifted according to the transfer rate. Features.

Thus, it is possible to provide a data recording / reproducing apparatus capable of automatically detecting a rate on the data recording / reproducing apparatus side without being set by the host.

Further, the data recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention
The rate detecting means has a configuration including a counting means for counting the amount of input or output data and a timer means for measuring time.

Thus, the amount of input / output data per unit time can be measured, and the rate detector can be configured with simple hardware.

Furthermore, the data recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention
The rate detecting means has a configuration including an interval measuring means for measuring a transfer interval of an input transfer command and a data amount extracting means for extracting a data amount for each transfer command.

Thus, the amount of input / output data per unit time can be measured, and the rate detector can be configured with simple hardware.

The hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention comprises:
A hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus comprising a recording unit for recording data on a hard disk and a reproducing unit for reproducing data from the hard disk, and having a plurality of internal operation states according to the operation and non-operation status of each internal block; And a disk control device that controls which of the plurality of internal operation states is to be shifted to after the completion of data transfer to or from the host.

Thus, after a series of data transfer is completed, the host can change the state on the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus side without issuing a command for changing the state each time. Can be reduced.

Further, the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention comprises a recording means for recording data on the hard disk, and a reproducing means for reproducing data from the hard disk, according to the operation and non-operation of each internal block. A hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus having a plurality of internal operation states, comprising a disk control device for predicting the timing of the next data transfer request command from the host and controlling in advance to which of the plurality of internal operation states have.

As a result, the host can issue a data transfer command without considering the time required for the hard disk recording / reproducing device to transfer data and output data, thereby reducing processing on the host. In addition to this, it is possible to improve the response of the hard disk recording / reproducing device.

Further, the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention has a setting means for setting a data transfer rate by an external setting, and shifts to any one of the plurality of internal operation states in accordance with the set transfer rate. Is controlled.

This makes it possible to finely control the transition state during non-operation and the timing to start transition to the operation state in accordance with the set transfer rate.

Further, the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention comprises a rate detecting means for detecting a transfer rate of input / output data from input / output data or a data transfer command; It is characterized by controlling which of the internal operation states is shifted to.

Thus, it is possible to provide a hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus capable of automatically detecting the rate on the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus side without being set by the host.

Further, in the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention, the rate detecting means has a structure including a counting means for counting the amount of input or output data and a timer means for measuring time.

Thus, the amount of input / output data per unit time can be measured, and the rate detector can be configured with simple hardware.

Further, in the hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention, the rate detecting means includes an interval measuring means for measuring a transfer interval of an input transfer command, and a data amount extracting means for extracting a data amount for each transfer command. Is included.

As a result, the amount of input / output data per unit time can be measured, and the rate detection unit can be configured with simple hardware.

[0041]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Here, a hard disk device, which is one of the data recording / reproducing devices, will be described. However, the same applies to other optical disk devices, magneto-optical disk devices, data recording / reproducing devices using semiconductor memories, and the like.

(First Embodiment) A data recording / reproducing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is an operation flowchart for explaining the operation of the intermittent access control of the data recording / reproducing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The hardware configuration of the data recording / reproducing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of FIG. 2, and the operation transition is performed after executing the read processing 310 or the write processing 311 in FIG. It determines which of the determined hibernation states. That is, the read processing 310
Alternatively, the pause state when the write processing 311 is completed is either the on-track state 309, the idle state 305, or the standby state 302.

In FIG. 1, it is determined whether the data transfer to or from the host has been completed (step 101: data transfer end determination processing). If the data transfer has been completed, a predetermined pause state, That is, the transition to the non-operation state at the time of the intermittent access is determined. First, it is determined whether the pause state is the on-track state (step 102). If the pause state is the on-track state, the process ends. If the state is not the on-track state, the processing shifts to the unload processing (step 103), and the state transits to the idle state 305. Next, it is determined whether the idle state is the idle state (step 104). If the idle state is the idle state, the process is terminated. If it is not the idle state, the sleep state is the standby state 302, so the process shifts to the spin-down process (step 105), and the process shifts to the standby state 302 and ends.

According to the first embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to make a transition to the sleep state without a control command from the host, and it is possible to reduce the processing on the host side.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a data recording / reproducing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart for explaining the operation of the intermittent access control of the data recording / reproducing device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The hardware configuration of the data recording / reproducing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of FIG. 2, and the operation transition is performed by the host after the data transfer to the host or after the data transfer from the host. FIG. 3 is in a boot preparation state in preparation for the command.
Is to determine which of the predetermined pause states before shifting to the read processing 310 or the write processing 311. That is, the read processing 31
0 or the pause state when shifting to the write process 311 is
It is either in the standby state 302, in the idle state 305, or in the on-track state 309.

In FIG. 4, it is determined whether data transfer to or from the host has been completed (step 401: data transfer end determination processing). If data transfer has been completed, time measurement is started (step 402). : Time measurement start processing). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not a predetermined pause time has been reached (step 403: pause time arrival determination processing). If the pause time has been reached, the transition processing is changed depending on the current pause state. First, it is determined whether the hibernation state is the standby state (step 404). If the state is the standby state, the process proceeds to a spin-up process (step 405), and then proceeds to a load process (step 40).
7) Further, a seek process is performed (step 408), and the state is changed to an on-track state (step 40).
9). If the current hibernation is not standby,
Next, it is determined whether the idle state is the idle state (step 406). If the idle state is present, the processing shifts to the load processing (step 407), then shifts to the seek processing (step 408), and then shifts to the on-track processing. (Step 409).

If the idle state is not the idle state, the processing shifts to the on-track state (step 409), and the processing is terminated as it is.

According to the second embodiment of the present invention, the host issues the data transfer command without considering the time from when the data recording / reproducing apparatus can transfer data to when outputting data. This makes it possible to reduce the processing on the host side and to improve the response of the data recording / reproducing apparatus.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The data recording / reproducing apparatus according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 5 differs from FIG. 2 in that a rate detector 501 is added. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the rate detection unit 501. The rate detection unit 501 includes a data transfer amount counter 601, a timer 602, and a rate register 603.

When the data transfer is started, the data transfer amount counter 601 starts counting the transfer amount, and the timer 60
2 outputs a pulse at regular intervals. With the pulse, the value at that time is held in the rate register 603, and the data transfer amount counter 601 starts counting again. The disk central control unit 208 can know the transfer rate from this value.

According to the third embodiment of the present invention, a rate detecting unit for detecting a data transfer rate can be configured with simple hardware.

(Fourth Embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The data recording / reproducing apparatus according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is an operation flowchart for explaining the operation of the intermittent access control of the data recording / reproducing device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The fourth aspect of the present invention
The hardware configuration of the data recording / reproducing apparatus according to the embodiment is the same as that of FIG. 2 except that the disk central control unit 208 has a timer and analyzes a transfer command set from the host. The operation transition will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 7, when a transfer command is received (step 701), a timer is started to start measuring time (T) (step 702), and a transfer amount (X) is extracted from the transfer command and held. (Step 703), and waits for the next transfer command (Step 70).
4). When the next transfer command comes, the timer value (Y) at that time is extracted (step 705), and the transfer rate (R) is extracted.
Is calculated from X / Y (step 706). Next, the timer is reset and counting is started again (step 70).
7), X is extracted from the current transfer command (step 708). Therefore, the disk central control unit 208
Makes it possible to know the transfer rate every time a transfer command is received.

According to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the transfer rate can be easily detected by the CPU of the disk central control unit.

[0057]

As described above, the present invention comprises a recording means for recording data on an information recording medium and a reproducing means for reproducing data from the information recording medium. In a data recording / reproducing device having a plurality of internal operation states according to the above, by providing control means for controlling which of the plurality of internal operation states to transition to after the data transfer to or from the host,
After the end of a series of data transfer, the host can change the state on the data recording / reproducing device side without issuing a command for changing the state each time, thereby reducing the processing on the host side. A data recording / reproducing device having the same can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of intermittent access control of a data recording / reproducing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional data recording / reproducing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a basic operation transition of the data recording / reproducing apparatus shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of intermittent access control of the data recording / reproducing device according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a data recording / reproducing device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a rate detecting unit according to a data recording / reproducing device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining a rate detection operation according to the data recording / reproducing apparatus in the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 Data transfer end determination processing 102 Judgment processing whether sleep state is on track state 103 Unload processing 104 Judgment processing whether idle state is idle 105 Spin down processing 201 Data 202 Host interface section 203 buffer 204 buffer control unit 205 Disk control unit 206 ECC control unit 207 Servo control unit 208 Disk central control unit 209 Read / write signal processing unit 210 Arm for magnetic head seek 211 head 212 Hard Disk 213 VCM 214 SPM 215 Motor driver 301 Power On 302 Standby state 303 Spin down processing 304 Spin-up processing 305 Idle state 306 Unload processing 307 Load processing 308 Seek processing 309 On-track state 310 Read processing 311 Write processing 401 Data transfer end judgment processing 402 Time measurement start processing 403 Pause time arrival determination processing 404 Processing for judging whether sleep state is standby state 405 Spin-up processing 406 Processing for judging whether sleep state is idle state 407 Load processing 408 seek processing 409 On-track state 501 Rate detector 601 Data transfer counter 602 timer 603 Rate register 701 Transfer command reception processing 702 Time measurement start processing 703 Data transfer amount extraction processing 704 Transfer command judgment processing 705 time measurement processing 706 Rate calculation processing 707 Time measurement start processing 708 Data transfer amount extraction processing

Claims (12)

[Claims] A plurality of internal operation states corresponding to the operation and non-operation states of each internal block, comprising recording means for recording data on an information recording medium and reproducing means for reproducing data from the information recording medium. A data recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: a control unit for controlling which of the plurality of internal operation states is to be shifted to after the completion of data transfer to or from the host. 2. A plurality of internal operating states according to the operating and non-operating states of each internal block, comprising recording means for recording data on an information recording medium and reproducing means for reproducing data from the information recording medium. A data recording / reproducing apparatus having a control means for predicting a timing at which a next data transfer request command comes from a host, and controlling in advance which of the plurality of internal operation states is to be transferred. 3. A setting means for setting a data transfer rate according to an external setting, and controlling which of the plurality of internal operation states is shifted in accordance with the set transfer rate. The data recording / reproducing device according to claim 1 or 2. 4. A rate detecting means for detecting a transfer rate of input / output data from input / output data or a data transfer command, and selecting one of the plurality of internal operation states according to the transfer rate. The data recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data recording / reproducing apparatus is controlled. 5. The data recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said rate detecting means includes a counting means for counting an amount of input or output data and a timer means for measuring time. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rate detecting means includes an interval measuring means for measuring a transfer interval of an input transfer command, and a data amount extracting means for extracting a data amount for each transfer command. 5. The data recording / reproducing device according to 4. 7. A hard disk recording device comprising a recording device for recording data on a hard disk and a reproducing device for reproducing data from the hard disk, and having a plurality of internal operation states according to the operation and non-operation status of each internal block. A hard disk recording / playback apparatus, comprising: a playback device; and a disk control device for controlling which of the plurality of internal operation states is to be shifted to after completion of data transfer to or from the host. 8. A hard disk recording device comprising a recording device for recording data on a hard disk and a reproducing device for reproducing data from the hard disk, and having a plurality of internal operation states according to the operation and non-operation status of each internal block. A hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus, comprising: a reproducing apparatus that predicts the timing of the next data transfer request command from the host and controls in advance which of the plurality of internal operation states is to be entered. 9. A setting means for setting a data transfer rate in accordance with an external setting, and controlling which of the plurality of internal operation states is shifted in accordance with the set transfer rate. A hard disk recording / reproducing device according to claim 7 or 8. 10. A rate detecting means for detecting a transfer rate of input / output data from input / output data or a data transfer command, and selecting one of the plurality of internal operation states according to the transfer rate. The hard disk recording / reproducing device according to claim 7 or 8, wherein 11. The hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said rate detecting means includes a counting means for counting an amount of data input or output and a timer means for measuring time. 12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rate detecting means includes an interval measuring means for measuring a transfer interval of an input transfer command, and a data amount extracting means for extracting a data amount for each transfer command. 5. The hard disk recording / reproducing apparatus according to 4.