JP2715975B2 - Collective magnetic disk drive - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a collective magnetic disk drive, and more particularly to a collective magnetic disk drive used as an external storage device of an information processing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional collective magnetic disk drive comprises a drive unit having a magnetic disk, a control board for controlling the operation of each part of the drive unit, and a chassis for integrally storing the drive unit and the control board. A housing that has a plurality of disk modules and accommodates these disk modules in a line in the vertical direction.

In this conventional collective magnetic disk drive, a plurality of disk modules are fixed by plug-in mounting on a main board fixed in an upright state inside a housing.

In each disk module, a drive unit is fixed at the same position on the control board inside the housing. In such a case, when these disk modules are mounted vertically, when viewed from directly above, Each drive unit is in a state of being arranged at the same position.

[0005]

The collective magnetic disk drive usually has a usable temperature range, and its use in other temperature conditions is restricted. In particular, use at high temperatures is strictly prohibited. Even within the usable temperature range, continuous operation in the high temperature range may cause shortening of service life or failure, and errors in reading and writing operations of the magnetic disk. Therefore, it is considered to be less preferable, and it is desired to use the device at an ambient temperature as low as possible.

However, there has been a problem that the plurality of drive units provided in the collective magnetic disk drive themselves become heat sources, and the heat generated from the drive units is accumulated inside the housing. On the other hand, a fan is provided as a cooling means in the housing, and means for generating an airflow from below to above is employed.

However, as described above, in the conventional collective magnetic disk drive, since the disk modules provided with the drive units are vertically arranged in a line, the heat generated from the drive units of the disk modules located below. Has risen and is directly exposed to the drive unit of the disk module arranged immediately above.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a collective magnetic disk drive capable of improving the disadvantages of the prior art and reducing the influence of heat generation inside the drive.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a drive unit having a magnetic disk, a control board for controlling the operation of the drive unit, and a chassis integrally provided with the drive unit and the control board. a plurality of disk modules consisting of, in the set type magnetic disk apparatus having a housing for accommodating the respective disk module in a row in the vertical direction, in each chassis
Divide the area horizontally into two equal parts, and divide one area
Drive unit on the other area, and the other divided area
The control board and nothing else except the control board
Drive unit for each of the vertically adjacent chassis.
The area where the knits are arranged and the area where no knits are arranged are alternately arranged.
It has a configuration of placing it.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of disk modules arranged in a row in the vertical direction are arranged in a plurality of rows in the horizontal direction. It has a configuration.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the second aspect of the present invention, each of the chassis adjacent in the lateral direction is provided.
Area where the drive unit is located and the front
A configuration is adopted in which the unrecorded areas are alternately arranged .

With the above-described configurations, the object described above is achieved.

[0013]

A plurality of disk modules comprising a drive unit having a magnetic disk, a control board for controlling the operation of each part of the drive unit, and a chassis for integrally storing the drive unit and the control board are provided in a collective magnetic disk drive. Inside the housing, they are arranged in a line in the vertical direction.

The collective magnetic disk device receives an operation command signal from an external information processing device, and in each disk module, the drive of each part of the drive unit is controlled by a control board, and reading and writing of information to and from the magnetic disk are performed. Done.

As the above operation is repeated, heat is generated from the drive sources of the respective drive units of the respective drive units. The heat generated at this time moves upward from the periphery of the drive unit and reaches other disk modules adjacent immediately above each disk module.
At this time, any two disk modules that are in a vertical positional relationship with each other, because the drive units are arranged at different positions in each chassis, the heat generated from the lower drive unit is directly used by the drive unit immediately above. Without being exposed, the generated heat moves further upward while being deprived of the surrounding temperature.

[0016]

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a partially omitted internal configuration of the collective magnetic disk device according to the present embodiment as viewed from the front, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the internal configuration as viewed from the side.

The collective magnetic disk drive shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a drive unit 2 having a magnetic disk, a control board 3 for controlling the operation of the drive unit 2, and
A plurality of disk modules 1 comprising a drive unit 2 and a chassis 4 integrally provided with the control board 3
A main board 6 for mounting each of the disk modules 1 so as to form a plurality of vertical rows;
A housing 5 for accommodating the main board 6 together with the plurality of disk modules 1 is provided.

More specifically, first, the drive unit 2 comprises a rotatable spindle on which a plurality of magnetic disks are coaxially fixed, and a plurality of magnetic heads for reading and writing information from and to each of these magnetic disks. , A spindle motor that urges the spindle to rotate, a voice coil motor that urges the arm to rotate, and positions the magnetic head, and integrates these components as described above. It is mainly composed of a box body that is equipped and stored in a special manner.

The drive unit 2 is fixedly mounted on the control board 3, and the terminals connected to the outside from the inside of the box body of the drive unit 2 allow the control board 3 to be connected.
And is in electrical communication with it. The control board 3 controls the drive of the spindle motor and the voice coil motor of the drive unit 2 described above. In addition, together with a main substrate 6 described later, it also serves as a communication path for information signals to an information processing device outside the collective magnetic disk device.

Further, as shown in FIG.
The disk module 1 has a lateral length slightly larger than twice that of the drive unit 2.
As shown in FIG.
And shall not be equipped with nothing on the right end portion side with but is equipped, like a disk module 1B, the left end side together with the drive unit 2 is equipped with the right end side of the control board 3
Nothing disk module 1 of two kinds of shall not be equipped is formed on.

The chassis 4 is a box-shaped container in which the drive unit 2 and the control board 3 are equipped and stored.
A ventilation slit or the like is provided to release internal heat. Further, the chassis 4 may have a lattice-like skeletal structure composed of a framework having no wall surface. As a result, heat does not stay inside, and heat is sufficiently released.

The main substrate 6 is formed in a flat plate shape, and is fixed in the housing 5 in an upright state. A plurality of receiving plugs 10 are fixedly provided on the flat surface of the main substrate 6. An interface cable (not shown) is connected to the main board 6, and the interface cable extends to the outside of the housing 5 and is connected to an information processing device that is a higher-level device of the collective magnetic disk device. .

Here, the control board 3 has a conductive plug 9 at one end thereof, and the conductive plug 9 is provided so as to protrude outside the chassis 4. The conductive plug 9 is connected to the receiving plug 1 mounted on the main substrate 6.
The disk module 1 is mounted on the main board 6 by attaching the conductive plug 9 to the receiving plug 10.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a total of thirty receiving plugs 10 are provided on the flat plate surface of the main substrate 6, six in the up-down direction and five in the left-right direction. This is not limited to this number, but may be smaller or larger as required.

At this time, the disk modules 1 are arranged such that the disk modules 1A and 1B are alternately arranged in the vertical direction. Thus, for each chassis 4 adjacent in the vertical direction, dry
Other than the area where the unit 2 is placed and the control board 3
In this case, the non-arranged area where no arrangement is performed is alternately arranged.

In the horizontal arrangement of the disk modules, the disk modules 1A and the disk modules 1B are alternately arranged. As a result, the drive units 2 are arranged for each of the chassis 4 adjacent in the lateral direction.
No area other than the area to be installed and the control board 3
Are placed in a staggered manner.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a housing for accommodating the above-described components inside. The housing 5 is provided with fans at the top and bottom respectively. The fan 7 provided at the upper portion sends out air to the outside of the housing 5, thereby preventing heat from accumulating above the inside of the housing 5. Further, the fan 8 provided at the lower portion feeds air from the outside of the housing 5 to the inside, thereby promoting the cooling effect by the external air. The internal air is circulated efficiently.

The operation of this embodiment will be described.

This collective type magnetic disk device receives an operation command signal from an external information processing device, and in each disk module 1, a drive unit 2 by a control board 3
Are controlled to read and write information to and from the magnetic disk.

As the above operation is repeated, heat is generated from the drive sources of the respective drive units of each drive unit 2. The heat generated at this time moves upward from the periphery of the drive unit 1, and each disk module 1
Each other disk module 1B immediately above A
To reach. At this time, any two disk modules 1A and 1B which are in an upper and lower positional relationship with each other, since the drive units 2 are arranged at different positions in each chassis 4, the heat generated from the lower drive units 2 Instead of directly hitting the drive unit 2 immediately above, it moves further upward while being deprived of the surrounding temperature.

The fans 7 and 8 provided on the upper and lower portions of the housing 5 generate an air flow inside the housing 5 from below to above the housing 5.

In this embodiment, the disk modules 1A and the disk modules 1B are alternately arranged in the vertical direction. Thereby, for each chassis 4 adjacent in the vertical direction, the area where the drive unit 2 is arranged and the control
The non-arranged area where nothing is arranged other than the substrate 3 is mutually
Each drive unit 2 is placed in a different state.
When the heat generated from the magnetic disk moves upward, the drive unit 2 of the disk module 1 located immediately above is not directly exposed to the heat, so that the influence on the read / write operation of the magnetic disk is reduced. It becomes possible.

Also, the drive unit in the vertical direction
2 except for the area where the control board 3 is placed and the control board 3
Because the non-arranged areas are arranged alternately ,
Compared to the case where the drive units 2 are arranged at the same position, the heat generation density thereof is reduced to about half, so that the influence of the upward heat is reduced.

Also, in the horizontal direction, the disk modules 1A and the disk modules 1B are alternately arranged .
And the area where the drive unit 2 is arranged and the control board 3
And other non-arranged areas where nothing is arranged are alternately arranged. In this case, when the heat generated from the drive unit 2 is transmitted in the horizontal direction, the drive unit 2 of the disk module 1 located immediately beside
Since it is not directly exposed to the heat, the influence on the reading and writing operations of the magnetic disk can be reduced.

Here, a shelf for mounting the chassis 4 of the disk module 1 may be provided inside the housing 5. In the present embodiment, since the disk module 1 is formed only by connecting the conductive plug 9 and the receiving plug 10,
Providing the shelves makes it possible to prevent the disk module 1 from coming off.

The chassis 4 serves the same purpose as the shelf described above.
Is made larger and the gaps between the chassis 4 are eliminated, so that the disk modules 1 are mounted in a stacked state in order from the lower one, and the mounting state of these is stabilized. In this case, it is more preferable to provide a shelf below the lowermost disk module 1 only.

Further, a configuration may be adopted in which a spacer is interposed between the chassis 4 that are vertically adjacent to each other.

As described above, when a means such as providing a shelf inside the housing 5, arranging the chassis 4 in a laminated body, or providing a spacer between the chassis 4 is adopted, a disk is used instead of the main substrate 6. Each control board 3 of the module 1 may be connected by wiring or the like.

[0039]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a drive unit is arranged for each chassis vertically adjacent to each other .
Area where nothing is placed except the control area and the control board.
When the heat generated from each drive unit moves upward, the drive unit of the disk module located immediately above
Since the magnetic disk is not directly exposed to the heat, the occurrence of malfunctions in reading and writing of the magnetic disk can be suppressed, and the life can be extended and the maintainability can be improved.

Further, since the drive units are arranged at positions where they do not overlap in the vertical direction, the heat generation density thereof is reduced as compared with the case where the drive units are arranged at the same position. The effect of heat on the part is reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the configuration of the first aspect is further arranged in a plurality of rows,
Since the number of drive units provided in one collective magnetic disk device is increased and the same effect as that of the first aspect is achieved, the influence of internal heat generation is reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, a drive unit is provided for each chassis adjacent in the lateral direction.
No placement except for the area to be placed and the control board
Are alternately arranged. In this case, when the heat generated from the drive unit is transferred in the horizontal direction, the drive units of the disk modules located immediately beside are not directly exposed to the heat because they are kept at a fixed interval. Therefore, it has the same effect as that of the first aspect of the present invention, and effectively prevents the influence of heat generation inside the device against the further increase in the number of mounted disk modules.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view showing the internal structure of a collective magnetic disk drive as viewed from the front.

FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view showing the internal structure of the collective magnetic disk drive as viewed from the right side.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Disk module 2 Drive unit 3 Control board 4 Chassis 5 Housing

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of disk modules each comprising a drive unit having a magnetic disk, a control board for controlling the operation of the drive unit, and a chassis integrally provided with the drive unit and the control board. In a collective magnetic disk drive having a housing for storing modules in a line in a vertical direction, an area in each chassis is bisected in a horizontal direction, and
Place the drive unit in one of the divided areas
And the other divided area is replaced with anything other than the control board.
Area, where no chassis is arranged.
The area where the unit is located and the area where no
Collective magnetic disk drive characterized by being arranged in a different way
Place. 2. The collective magnetic disk drive according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of disk modules arranged in a row in the vertical direction are arranged in a plurality of rows in the horizontal direction. 3. Each of the chassis adjacent to each other in a lateral direction.
The area where the drive unit is arranged and the area where the drive unit is not arranged
Claims characterized in that the regions of the present invention are arranged alternately.
2. The collective magnetic disk drive according to 2.