JPH0714290A - Operating and control method of disk apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To select an operating mode according to a user's request by a method wherein electric-power mode information is written selectively in a disk in advance and the electric-power mode information is read out and stored after a power supply has been turned on. CONSTITUTION:When a power supply is turned on in a disk apparatus 1, electric-power mode information which has been written in a work track on a disk 2 is read out by a head 4 under the control of an MPU 10 which is operated by a program inside a control means 9, the information is transmitted to the means 9 via an R/W means 5, and the information is stored in a memory 11 of the MPU 10. After that, the apparatus 1 is set into a command waiting state, the information is written to, or the information is read out from, the disk 2 by a command supplied from a host control means 13. Thereby, an operating mode according to a user's request can be selected, and the shift time to an idle mode can be selected.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for controlling a disk device, and more particularly to a method for controlling a disk device which makes it possible to selectively operate the disk device in a power saving mode after powering on the disk device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a disk device (for example, a hard disk device), there are two operating states, a normal mode (non-power saving mode) and an idle mode (power saving mode), as operating modes.

Of these, the normal mode is the normal operating state of the disk device and has not been shifted to the power saving mode. In the normal mode, the head is on-track to any track on the disk, and the disk device is waiting for a command from the host control means such as the host computer. On the other hand, in the idle mode, VCM (voice coil motor) and R / W (read / write) means (IC
In the operating state in which the operation of the R / W channel is stopped, and the power saving mode is entered. This idle mode is an operation mode that is automatically entered when no command is sent from the host control means to the disk device for a predetermined time. In idle mode, the command is supplied from the host control means to the disk device. For example, the execution of this command causes the disk device to immediately return to the normal mode.

In addition to this, the disk device has a standby mode and a sleep mode which are more power saving modes than the idle mode. These modes are VC.
Not only is the operation of the M, R / W means and R / W channel stopped, but also the operation of the spindle motor (disk drive motor) and the like.

[0005]

By the way, the conventional disk device is either a normal mode and an idle mode, or a normal mode only. The disk device can be set in advance, and the selection of the transition or non-transition of the disk device to the idle mode has been made by connecting the short pin installed in the disk device.

Further, in the conventional disk device, the transition time from the normal mode to the idle mode is fixed in advance even when the transition from the normal mode to the idle mode is set, and the transition time is usually, for example, It was set to 5 seconds.

As described above, in the conventional disk device, once the operation mode is set to one operation mode, for example, only the normal mode, another operation mode, for example, the normal mode and the idle mode are set. It is not possible to reset the normal mode to the idle mode, and even when the normal mode and the idle mode are set, the transition time from the normal mode to the idle mode is set to 5 seconds. There is a problem that the convenience and preference of the (customer) cannot be sufficiently reflected when using the disk device.

However, if the number of short pins installed in the disk device is increased, the transition time from the normal mode to the idle mode can be selected to some extent. However, there is a problem in that the size increases and there is a disadvantage in downsizing and cost.

The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to set an operation mode in response to a request from a user (customer) and to change to an idle mode without increasing the number of constituent parts. An object of the present invention is to provide a disk drive operation control method capable of appropriately selecting a transition time.

[0010]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a rotatable disk, a motor for driving the disk to rotate, a disk arranged to face the disk, and information is recorded on the disk. A head for reproducing information recorded on the disk, an R / W (read / write) means for recording and reproducing information between the head and the disk via the head, and the head in the radial direction of the disk. At least a disk device is configured by a driving device for shifting, a storage device for storing reproduction information obtained by the head, and a control device, and the control device is based on a command of a host control device externally connected to the disk device. In the operation control method of the disk device for causing the motor, the R / W means, the driving means, etc. to perform a predetermined operation. The power mode information of the device is recorded,
After the power supply to the disk device is turned on, the power mode information is read from the disk, the read power mode information is stored in the storage unit, and then the host control is performed depending on the power mode information stored in the storage unit. A means for operating the disk device based on an operation command from the means is provided.

[0011]

According to the above-mentioned means, power mode information indicating that the normal mode is not shifted to the idle mode (not shifted to the idle mode) on a predetermined track (hereinafter referred to as a work track) other than the user-used track of the disc, Power mode information indicating that the normal mode is switched to the idle mode in 1 second (switched to the idle mode in 1 second), indicating that the normal mode is switched to the idle mode in 2 seconds (switched to the idle mode in 2 seconds) Power mode information, power mode information indicating that the normal mode shifts to the idle mode in 3 seconds (shifts to the idle mode in 3 seconds), shifts from the normal mode to the idle mode in 4 seconds (shifts to the idle mode in 4 seconds) ) One operation mode among the operation modes such as power mode information indicating After power-on location, the reads of power mode information indicating one mode of operation, and records the read power mode information in the storage means in the interior of the disk device. After that, a predetermined operation is executed in the disk device by various commands supplied from the host control means, but an operation based on the power mode information stored in the storage means is executed.

As described above, according to the above-mentioned means, when one operation mode desired by the user (customer) and the operation mode for changing from the normal mode to the idle mode are written on the disk, the mode is changed to the idle mode. By writing the time together, it is possible to flexibly deal with customers without increasing the number of components.

Further, the writing of one operation mode to the disc can be set by using a command at the time of using a computer such as the assembling process of the disc device or the inspecting process. Need not be provided.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a disk device to which an operation control method for a disk device such as a hard disk device according to the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a hard disk device as an example of a disk device, 2 is a hard disk, 3 is a spindle motor, 4 is a head (magnetic head), 5 is read / write (R / W) means, and 6 is R. / W bidirectional amplifier (IC), 7 R / W channel, 8 voice coil motor (VCM), 9 control means, 10 microprocessor unit (MPU), 11 internal memory, 12 random access memory ( RAM) and 13 are host computers (host control means).

A hard disk device (hereinafter, referred to as a disk device) 1 is a rotatably configured hard disk (hereinafter, referred to as a disk) 2, a spindle motor 3 for rotating the disk 2, and a disk 2 facing each other. A head 4 configured to be movable in the radial direction of the disk 2, R / W means 5 connected to the head 4, and a VCM 8 for moving the head 4 in the radial direction of the disk 2.
A control unit 9 connected to the spindle motor 3, the R / W unit 5, and the VCM 8, respectively, and a RAM 12 which is a buffer memory connected to the control unit 9 and temporarily storing data (playback data) read by the head 4. Consists of. In this case, the R / W means 5 uses the R / W bidirectional IC 6
And the R / W channel 7, and the control means 9 includes an MPU 10 having an internal memory 11. The control means 9 of the disk device 1 is coupled to the host control means 13 arranged outside the disk device 1.

Further, the disk device 1 is provided with a finishing process using a computer such as an assembling process or an inspecting process.
By the selection of the command supplied from the computer,
The power mode information indicating one of the following operation modes is written in the work track of the disk 2.

FIG. 2 shows an example of power mode information selectively written in the work track of the disk 2.
It is explanatory drawing which has displayed the meaning of the information correspondingly.

As shown in FIG. 2, the power mode information is selectively written on the work track of the disc 2 by codes such as 00, 01, 02, 03. Device 1
At the time of operation, the disk device 1 itself is controlled so that it does not shift to the idle mode (unless there is a command from the host control means 13, the non-power saving mode is maintained), and the code 0
When 1 is written, the disk device 1 is controlled to shift to the idle mode one second after the supply of the command from the host control means 13 is stopped, and the code 02
Is written, the disk device 1 is controlled so as to shift to the idle mode two seconds after the supply of the command from the host control means 13 is stopped. Hereinafter, another code 03 is written. The same is true at times.

The disk device 1 of this embodiment having the above-mentioned configuration
Operates as described below. However, it is assumed that the disk 2 of the disk device 1 has a code 02 written in the work track as power mode information.

Now, when the disk device 1 is powered on, after performing a predetermined initialization operation such as recalibration for moving the head 4 to 0 cylinder (0 track), each part of the disk device 1 is in an operable state. become. At this time, the code 02 of the power mode information written in the work track of the disk 2 is read by the head 4 under the control of the MPU 10 operated by the program in the control means 9, and the read power mode information is read. Is transmitted from the head 4 to the control means 9 through the R / W means 5, and the control means 9 causes the MPU 10 to be transmitted.
Are stored in the internal memory 11. After the power mode information is stored in the internal memory 11, the disk device 1 is executed in the same manner as the known disk device of this type.
Enters a state of waiting for a command, and records or writes information on the disc 2 or reproduces information recorded on the disc 2 by a command supplied from the host control means 13.

In this case, when the command supplied from the host control means 13 is stopped and the stop period exceeds 2 seconds, the disk device 1 is notified by the power mode information stored in the internal memory 11. Transition from normal mode up to idle mode. When shifting to the idle mode, the operations of the R / W means 5 and the VCM 8 are stopped, and the disk device 1 enters the power saving mode. And
After shifting to the idle mode, the host control means 1 is restarted.
When the command is supplied from 3, the disk device 1 returns from the idle mode to the normal mode, and the operation according to the command is executed. Even after this, if the command supplied from the host control means 13 is stopped for 2 seconds or more, the disk device 1 re-enters the idle mode,
Next, when a command is supplied from the host control means 13, the disk device 1 returns to the normal mode.
Hereinafter, in the disk device 1, the same operation as the above-mentioned operation is repeatedly executed.

Incidentally, when the command is supplied from the host control means 13 and the idle mode is released, the operation of the VCM 8 is stopped until immediately before that, so that the head 4
Is deviated from the track that was on-track when the mode was first changed to the idle mode, and immediately after the command is supplied from the host control means 13, it is unknown which track the head 4 is located on. . Therefore, when returning from the idle mode to the normal mode, the head 4 may be moved once to the 0 cylinder (0 and the rack) by performing the recalibration in the same manner as when the disk device 1 is powered on. If such an operation is performed, it takes about 1 second to return from the idle mode to the normal mode.

Therefore, in the disk device 1 of this embodiment,
Without moving the head 4 to the 0 cylinder (0 and the rack), at the time of command supply, the head 4 is made to be on-track to the track near the head 4 and the track information is read by the head 4, and then the track information is read. The control means 9 performs control such that the target track corresponding to the command from the host control means 13 is sought, whereby the time required for returning to the normal mode is greatly reduced to about 100 ms.

When the host control means 13 supplies a command for shifting to the standby mode or the sleep mode when the disk device 1 is in the normal mode or the idle mode, the disk device 1 receives this command. Is preferentially executed to stop the operations of the spindle motor 3 and the like, and enter the standby mode in which further power saving can be realized. The recovery from the standby mode or the sleep mode is performed by the command or reset signal supplied from the host control unit 13.

In the present embodiment, the case where the power mode information code 02 is written in the work track of the disk 2 has been described, but the power mode information code 01 or the power mode information code 03 is written. In this case, when the command supplied from the host control means 13 is stopped for 1 second or longer or 3 seconds or longer, the normal mode is shifted to the idle mode, and other operations are exactly the same as those of the above-mentioned embodiment. .

On the other hand, when the power mode information code 00 is written in the work track of the disk 2,
Even if the command supplied from the host controller 13 stops, the host controller 13 does not shift from the normal mode to the idle mode regardless of the stop time.
The normal mode operation is executed unless a command for shifting from the standby mode to the sleep mode is supplied from.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the power mode information indicating one desired operation mode among several operation modes is selectively written in advance in the work track of the disk 2, When the power of the device 1 is turned on, the power mode information is read out and the MPU 10 of the control means 9 is read.
Since it is stored in the internal memory 11 of the device, not only can an operation mode suitable for the user's preference be selected, but also in the case of selecting an operation mode capable of shifting to the idle mode, the transition time to the idle mode is appropriately set. It is possible to obtain the operation control method of the disk device which can be selected and can be flexibly handled by the customer.

Although the power mode information is stored in the internal memory 11 in the MPU 10 in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and the external memory of the MPU 10 is not limited to this. , For example, RAM1
The same operation may be performed by storing the data in a part of the area 2.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the operation of the R / W means 5 and the VCM 8 is stopped in the idle mode, but it is also possible to stop only one of them. Furthermore, in addition to the R / W means 5 and the VCM 8, other constituent members, for example, the MPU 1
If 0 has internal memory 11, RAM 12
It is also possible to stop the power supply to the.

At this time, the timing for reading the power mode information recorded on the work of the disk 2 and the rack and storing it in the memory is preferably immediately after the power supply of the disk device 1 is turned on, but the time when the disk device 1 stabilizes, for example, The power mode information may be stored in the memory after waiting about 5 minutes.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention,
During the manufacturing process of the disk device 1 or the like, power mode information indicating one desired operation mode among several operation modes is selectively written in advance in the work track of the disk, and after power-on of the disk device. The power mode information is read out and stored in the storage means.

Therefore, the user (audience) can not only select the operation mode that suits his / her request, but also select the operation time to the idle mode appropriately even when the operation mode that allows the transition to the idle mode is selected. Therefore, there is an effect that a method of controlling the operation of the disk device, which is capable of handling the customer flexibly, can be obtained.

Further, both the selection of the operation mode and the selection of the transition time to the idle mode can be executed by the software processing, so that it is not necessary to change the number of substrates or the configuration pattern of the substrate, and it is flexible. Even though it is possible to deal with customers, there is an effect that component parts and costs are not increased.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a disk device to which a disk device operation control method according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of power mode information selectively written in a work track of a disc and a meaning of the information correspondingly displayed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Hard Disk Device (Disk Device) 2 Hard Disk (Disk) 3 Spindle Motor (Drive Means) 4 Head 5 Read / Write (R / W) Means 6 R / W Bidirectional Amplifier (IC) 7 R / W Channel 8 Voice Coil Motor (VCM) 9 control means 10 microprocessor unit (MPU) 11 internal memory 12 random access memory (RAM) 13 host computer (host control means)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A rotatable disk, a motor for driving the disk to rotate, a head arranged to face the disk to record information on the disk and reproduce the recorded information on the disk, and via the head. R / W (read / write) means for recording and reproducing information to and from the disk, drive means for moving the head in the radial direction of the disk, and storing reproduction information obtained by the head. At least a disk device is configured by the storage means and the control means, and the control means predetermined for the motor, the R / W means, the drive means, etc. based on a command from the host control means externally connected to the disk device. In the operation control method of the disk device, the power mode information of the disk device is recorded in advance on the disk,
After the power supply to the disk device is turned on, the power mode information is read from the disk, the read power mode information is stored in the storage unit, and then the host control is performed depending on the power mode information stored in the storage unit. A disk drive operation control method comprising operating the disk drive based on an operation command from the means. 2. The operating power mode information is a code having the meaning of not shifting to idle mode, shifting to idle mode in 1 second, shifting to idle mode in 2 seconds, shifting to idle mode in 3 seconds, etc. The operation control method for a disk device according to claim 1, wherein