JP2004062961A - Hard disk device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a removable hard disk device using a hard disk as a removable recording medium. <P>SOLUTION: A recording/reproducing unit 20 and a control unit 10 are separately disposed, and connected by connectors 16a, 16b. A recording amplifier reproducing amplifier 21 is disposed in the recording/reproducing unit 20, a signal sent through the connector 16 is recorded/reproduced on a disk 23, and servo and mechanical control is executed by a mechanical sensor motor control circuit 24. The recording/reproducing unit 20 is constituted of minimum necessary components and circuits when data is recorded/reproduced on a hard disk, and detachable. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a hard disk drive.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, magnetic tapes have been used as large-capacity recording media. Recently, the recording density of hard disk drives (hereinafter referred to as HDDs) has been dramatically improved, and expectations for disk media having better accessibility than tapes have increased. However, HDDs are used for storing large-capacity data. However, since one HDD has insufficient recording capacity, a configuration using a plurality of HDDs is disclosed in JP-A-2001-6350.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in general, HDDs are not economical for storing large-capacity data such as image recording when compared with inexpensive tape media. In addition, although HDDs for mobile use in which the weight and volume of the HDD are reduced have been developed, there is a problem that the recording capacity is reduced according to the size and the use is limited.
Further, the magnetic disk medium has a problem that the working distance between the medium and the head is extremely small, so that it is not suitable for use as a so-called removable recording medium in which only the disk is replaced and data is stored.
[0004]
The capacity of a hard disk is increasing year by year, and if it is considered that the capacity of one disk is 20 GB, it often increases to 40 GB one year later. Naturally, the number of rotations of the motor, the track pitch, the data rate, and the like change.
Therefore, when devising a removable hard disk drive that simply connects an HDD composed of the minimum necessary components via a connector, connecting a hard disk of a different recording capacity, it does not work, or the worst hard disk There was a problem of breaking.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points. In a conventional HDD, a recording / reproducing unit and a control unit are housed in the same housing. However, when data is to be stored on a disk, an electric circuit, a mechanism, Provided is a removable hard disk drive device that prepares a plurality of recording / reproducing units in which a head and a medium are housed in the same housing, selects a recording / reproducing unit according to a recording capacity, and records and reproduces data.
At this time, by making the shape of the connector to be connected different according to the recording capacity of the recording medium or the type of head, a controllable unit can be physically controlled from a plurality of recording / reproducing units having different connectors having the same size. By adopting a configuration that allows for selective selection, an accident due to erroneous insertion of a recording / reproducing unit can be prevented beforehand, and a operable, reamable hard disk drive device is provided.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention comprises the following means 1) to 3) in order to solve the above problems.
That is,
1) A recording / reproducing system using a hard disk device which can record / reproduce information processed by a main unit and can be detachably connected to the main unit,
The hard disk device,
A first connector for connecting to the main unit and a hard disk unit having a recording medium;
A head unit having a head for accessing the hard disk unit and recording and reproducing information,
A recording / reproducing section for recording / reproducing data on the head section,
A data format unit for extracting and shaping a digital signal to be recorded / reproduced corresponding to the hard disk device;
A signal processing control unit configured with a control signal generation circuit unit that generates a signal for controlling the hard disk unit from the data format unit;
A second connector for connecting to the hard disk device;
It is configured with
The hard disk device, wherein the first and second connectors have different pin arrangements depending on the type of the recording medium or the type of the head of the hard disk device to prevent erroneous insertion.
2) The signal processing control means constituting the recording / reproducing system in the main device described in 1) is a separate device separate from the main device, and a third connector is provided between the main device and the hard disk device. The hard disk drive according to 1), characterized in that the hard disk drive is configured to be detachably connected to the main unit via a computer.
3) The hard disk drive according to 2), wherein the third connector is a PCMCIA standard connector.
[0007]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to preferred embodiments. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a digital signal recording / reproducing apparatus using an HDD applied to the embodiment. Conventionally, the recording / reproducing unit 20 and the control unit 10 are housed in the same package without the connectors 16a and 16b, but in the present embodiment, they are separated from each other.
[0008]
The connector 11 in FIG. 1 is connected to a PC (not shown) and satisfies the PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) standard. When the PC issues an instruction to record data, the interface 12 receives the data from the PC according to the bus standard. The received data is track-formatted by the data formatter 13 to be recorded on the HDD, and sent to the recording / reproducing unit via the connector 16a.
On the other hand, the servo mechanism control circuit 14 generates control signals such as the rotation of the disk at a specified number of rotations and the movement of the head, which are also sent to the recording / reproducing unit through the connector 16a. These series of operations are controlled by the system control circuit 15.
[0009]
The recording / reproducing unit 20 is provided with a recording amplifier 21 for amplifying a signal transmitted through the connector 16b and recording the amplified signal on the disk 23. At the same time, the rotation of a motor (not shown) is controlled by a signal sent through the connector 16b. Sensor signals such as the rotation of the motor and the position of the head 22 are also sent to the control unit 20 via the connector 16b, and servo and mechanical control are performed by the mechanical sensor motor control circuit 24.
[0010]
At the time of reproduction, the signal reproduced by the head 22 is amplified by the reproduction amplifier 21 and sent to the control unit 10 via the connector 16b. The control unit 10 detects a signal and performs processing such as error correction, and then sends data to the PC through the interface 12.
Servo and mechanical control are also performed by the mechanical sensor motor control circuit 24 in the same manner as during recording.
As described above, the recording / reproducing unit 20 is composed of the minimum necessary components and circuits when recording and reproducing data on the hard disk.
[0011]
Next, FIG. 2 shows another embodiment in which a digital signal recording / reproducing apparatus using an HDD is provided with a connector for identifying a difference in medium capacity.
The capacity of a hard disk is increasing year by year, and if it is considered that the capacity of one disk is 20 GB, it often increases to 40 GB one year later. Naturally, the number of rotations of the motor, the track pitch, the data rate, and the like change.
In this embodiment, in order to discriminate the difference in the medium capacity, a configuration in which the pin arrangement of the connector is different is prepared. Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to FIGS.
[0012]
The connector TypeA shown in FIG. 7A shows a part of the first connector on the control unit side corresponding to the 20 GB disk format. Similarly, it is assumed that the connector TypeB shown in (b) corresponds to a 40 GB disk.
The control unit having a Type A hole is provided with a circuit for controlling a 20 GB recording / reproducing unit, and only a recording / reproducing unit corresponding to the Type A hole shape can be mounted. Type B connectors cannot be physically attached. As described above, the connectors of the control unit and the recording / reproducing unit are formed in a shape corresponding to the difference in the capacity of the medium, thereby preventing erroneous insertion.
[0013]
Next, an example in which the control unit is provided with a control unit capable of controlling both the 20 GB disk format and the 40 GB disk format will be described. An example of the connector shape in this case is as shown in FIG. In this case, both Type A (a) and Type B (b) connectors can be mounted.
Also, FIG. 1C is a terminal on the control unit side, terminals 1 and 2 are configured to be pulled up via a resistor, and FIGS. 1A and 1B are terminals on the recording and reproducing unit side, and 1 or 2 is , And always grounded. With this configuration, when the (a) Type A unit is inserted into the control unit side (c), the terminal 1 is at the LOW level, the terminal 2 is at the HIGH level, and the (b) Type B unit is inserted. In this case, the terminal 1 is at the HIGH level and the terminal 2 is at the LOW level, and the type of the connected unit can be identified. Therefore, if the control method is selected according to the type of the connected unit, Good.
[0014]
FIG. 3 shows another embodiment, in which the control unit is incorporated in the video movie device 30. The movie unit 31 is provided with a conventionally used device such as a well-known camera, microphone and monitor, and is supplied to the data recording / reproducing unit 20 from the video / audio signal processing circuit 32 instead of data from the PC. You.
According to this embodiment, video and audio data can be recorded on the recording / reproducing unit, and a hard disk can be used as a recording medium instead of a conventional tape medium. As a result, a video camera system having a high degree of freedom can be configured by selecting and mounting the recording / reproducing unit 20 having an appropriate format according to the power supply capacity, the recording time, and the like.
[0015]
A digital signal recording / reproducing device having a high degree of freedom can be configured by incorporating a control unit unit into the video device side, and selecting and mounting a recording / reproducing unit 20 having an appropriate format according to the intended use. can do.
[0016]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, by adopting a configuration in which another recording / reproducing unit of the same format is replaced, the medium itself cannot be replaced like a floppy (registered trademark) disk, but the hard disk housed in the package cannot be replaced. It can be handled as if it were a floppy (registered trademark) disk. The hard disk is packaged, so you can keep your working distance and avoid crashes due to trash.
Further, it goes without saying that the recording / reproducing unit has higher performance than the conventional HDD in terms of weight, volume, and price because the conventional control unit is separated.
As a result, HDDs that have been used for stationary applications can also be used as removable media.
[0017]
Further, by changing the hole shape and position of the connector for connecting the recording / reproducing unit to physically select the type of the HDD, a plurality of recording / reproducing units of different capacities having connectors of the same size can be used. Since it is possible to physically select a controllable unit, an accident due to erroneous insertion of the recording / reproducing unit can be prevented beforehand, and operability is improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining a control unit and a recording / reproducing unit applied to the present embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining a connector for connecting a control unit and a recording / reproducing unit applied to the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining a recording / reproducing unit combined with a video movie device applied to the present embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Control unit 11, 16a, 16b ... Connector 12 ... Interface 13 ... Data formatter 14 ... Servo mechanical control circuit 15 ... Operation system control circuit 20 ... Recording / reproducing unit 21 ... Recording amplifier / reproducing amplifier 22 ... Head 23 ... Hard disk 24 ... Mechanical sensor Motor control circuit 30 Video movie device 31 Movie unit 32 Image / audio signal processing circuit

Claims (3)

A recording / reproducing system using a hard disk device capable of recording / reproducing information signal-processed by the main unit and detachably connected to the main unit,
The hard disk device,
A first connector for connecting to the main unit;
A hard disk unit having a recording medium,
A head unit having a head for accessing the hard disk unit and recording and reproducing information,
A recording and reproducing unit that records and reproduces data on the head unit;
Is configured with
A data format unit for extracting and shaping a digital signal to be recorded / reproduced corresponding to the hard disk device;
A signal processing control unit configured with a control signal generation circuit unit that generates a signal for controlling the hard disk unit from the data format unit;
A second connector for connecting to the hard disk device;
It is configured with
The hard disk device, wherein the first and second connectors have different pin arrangements depending on the type of the recording medium or the type of the head of the hard disk device to prevent erroneous insertion. The signal processing control means constituting the recording / reproducing system in the main device according to claim 1, wherein a third connector is provided between the main device and the hard disk device as a separate device separate from the main device. 2. The hard disk drive according to claim 1, wherein the hard disk drive is configured so as to be detachably connected to the main unit via an interface. 3. The hard disk drive according to claim 2, wherein the third connector is a PCMCIA standard connector.

Images