JPH087450A - Data recording and reproducing device and motor controlling method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce overall power consumption of the device by realizing motor power consumption lower than normal during a device driving as required. CONSTITUTION:A CPU 10 stores an operating mode information in a memory 11. The information instructs a lower-than-normal power operating mode with respect to the normal operation ode by the normal motor power consumption set by a switching circuit 12. When the mode is set, the CPU 10 limits a maximum driving current value, which is supplied to a VCM 5 and a spindle motor 3, to a prescribed value based on VCM (a voice coil motor) maximum and SM maximum current values stored in the memory 11. Thus, during a driving of an HDD (a hard disk device), the motor power consumption is reduced by selectively setting the lower power operating mode.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a magnetic disk device, and more particularly to a data recording / reproducing device having a function of controlling power consumption of a motor when the device is driven.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a hard disk device (HDD) which is a magnetic disk device is a device which uses a disk as a recording medium, records data on the disk by a head, and reproduces data from the disk. The disk is rotated at a high speed by a disk rotating motor called a spindle motor.

On the other hand, the head is held by an actuator (carriage), and is moved in the radial direction of the disk by a voice coil motor (VCM) which rotationally drives the actuator. By this VCM, the head is moved to a target track on the disk and positioned, and data read / write is executed.

A drive current is supplied to each of the spindle motor and the VCM from a drive circuit (motor driver).
Each drive circuit is controlled by a CPU that constitutes a control device of the HDD, and supplies a drive current according to a designated current value to each motor.

In the HDD, the power consumption required to drive the spindle motor and VCM occupies most of the power consumption of the entire device. For this reason, various technologies have been developed to realize low power consumption by reducing the power consumption of each motor. In particular, there is a small HDD mounted on a laptop personal computer, which is driven by an internal battery of the computer. Since the power capacity of the built-in battery is small, the technology for reducing the power consumption of the HDD is important.

[0006]

In HDDs, it is important to reduce the power consumption of the spindle motor and VCM by reducing the power consumption. Conventionally, various methods have been developed as a technique for reducing power consumption, but basically HDD
In the standby state (standby state for commands from the host), all or part of the electric power supplied to the motor is reduced. For example, stop the power supply to the spindle motor until a command is issued from the host and access is made,
This is a method of stopping the rotational movement of the disk. Also, V
The same applies to CM.

However, lowering the power consumption of the HDD in the standby state is not sufficient. Particularly in an HDD driven by a built-in battery of a computer, power consumption may peak during driving, and the power supply capacity of the built-in battery may drop sharply. In order to prevent such a situation, it is desirable to reduce the power consumption when the HDD is driven, if necessary. That is, for example, when driven by a built-in battery, the HDD is driven with lower power consumption than usual, and when sufficient power supply capacity such as an AC power source is available, the HDD is driven with normal power consumption. It is desirable to realize various power control.

An object of the present invention is to realize a reduction in the power consumption of the motor more than usual when driving the device, if necessary.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a high-performance data recording / reproducing device with low power consumption as a result of reducing power consumption of the entire device.

[0009]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a data recording / reproducing apparatus for performing a data read / write operation on a disk rotated by a disk motor by a head driven by the head motor. Alternatively, operation mode setting means for selectively setting a low power operation mode for reducing the power consumption of the disk motor, current setting means for limiting the maximum drive current value to a predetermined value according to the low power operation mode, and motor drive control means Is a device equipped with.

[0010]

In the present invention, the operation mode setting means selectively sets the low power operation mode, which is lower than the normal operation mode, to the normal operation mode due to the normal motor power consumption, according to the instruction. The current setting means limits and sets the maximum drive current value of the head motor or the disk motor to a predetermined value when the low power operation mode is set by the operation mode setting means. The motor drive control means drives and controls the head motor or the disk motor with the maximum drive current value limited by the current setting means as an upper limit when the low power operation mode is set. As a result, the motor power consumption can be reduced by selectively setting the low power operation mode when the device is driven.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the main part of the HDD of the embodiment,
2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the stored contents of the memory of the embodiment, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a modified example of the embodiment, and FIG.
6 to FIG. 6 are flowcharts for explaining the operation of the embodiment or its modification, and FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation mode according to the embodiment. (Explanation of Configuration) As shown in FIG. 1, the HDD according to the embodiment has a head 1 according to a command from a host computer.
Data is recorded on the disk 2 or the data read by the head 1 is reproduced. Disk 2 is 1
One sheet or a plurality of sheets are provided. In the embodiment, the number is one for convenience. Further, a plurality of heads 1 are provided corresponding to both sides of one disk 2.

The head 1 is held by a head actuator 4. The head actuator 4 is rotationally driven by a voice coil motor (VCM) 5 to move the head 1 in the radial direction of the disk 2. VCM5 is VCM
A drive current is supplied from the drive circuit (driver) 7 to drive the drive circuit. On the other hand, the disk 2 is rotationally driven by the spindle motor 3 and rotates at high speed. The spindle motor 3 is driven by a spindle motor (SM) drive circuit (driver) 6.

The read / write circuit 8 is usually composed of a dedicated integrated circuit and executes data read / write processing. That is, the read / write circuit 8 writes the write data (NRZ encoded data) transferred from the host computer.
Is converted into a write signal (write current) current and output to the head 1, and the read signal output from the head 1 is converted into digital read data.

The interface 9 transfers data and various interface signals between the HDD and the host computer. That is, the interface 9 receives the write data transferred from the host computer and outputs it to the read / write circuit 8. Further, the read data reproduced by the read / write circuit 8 is transferred to the host computer. The interface 9 is an HDD
A command or the like issued from the host computer is transferred to the control device (CPU) 10 that controls the above.

The CPU 10 is a control microprocessor (microcontroller) for executing various control processes such as servo control, and controls the VCM drive circuit 7 and the SM drive circuit 6. That is, in the embodiment, the CPU 10
Controls the drive current supplied to the VCM 5 and the spindle motor 3 in accordance with the operation mode set by the manually operated switch circuit 12 provided in the HDD. As will be described later, the operation modes include a normal mode in a normal operation and a low power mode in which the power consumption of the motor is reduced as compared with the normal mode.

The memory 11 is composed of a nonvolatile read / write memory such as an EEPROM, and is controlled by the CPU 10 to store the operation mode information and the maximum current value of each motor (see FIG. 2).

The switch circuit 12 is an operation mode setting means for selectively setting the operation mode, and CP
A signal indicating the selected operation mode is output to U10. The switch circuit 12 is attached to the main body of a host computer (personal computer or the like) equipped with an HDD, for example. (Description of Operation) Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 4, and 7. In this embodiment, for example, a built-in battery-driven personal computer is assumed as the host computer, and it is assumed that the HDD of the embodiment is mounted inside the computer main body.

First, when the HDD is powered on, the CP
The U 10 stores in the memory 11 the information indicating the operation mode set by the switch circuit 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the memory 11 stores information indicating either the normal mode or the low power mode. Further, the memory 11 has a VCM 5 in the low power mode in advance or in response to a command from the host computer when the power is turned on.
The VCM maximum current value and the SM maximum current value supplied to the spindle motor 3 are stored. The VCM maximum current value and the SM maximum current value are current values limited to levels lower than the maximum current value in the normal mode.

Next, when a command (read / write command) is issued from the host computer and given to the CPU 10 via the interface 9, the CPU 10 starts driving control of the VCM 5 and the spindle motor 3.
Here, in the embodiment, the CPU 10 reads the operation mode information from the memory 11 and determines whether the normal mode or the low power mode is set (step S).
1, S2).

In the normal mode (that is, the low power mode information is not set), the CPU 10 executes normal motor drive control (step S6). Therefore, at the start of rotation of the disk 2, the SM drive circuit 6 is controlled to supply the maximum drive current Im1 to the spindle motor 3 as shown in FIG. 7 (B). And disk 2
Spindle motor 3 until the number of rotations reaches the target value.
The drive current value to be supplied to is gradually reduced.

In the seek control for moving the head 1 to the target track on the disk 2, the CPU 10 controls the drive so that the head 1 is accelerated during the initial seek for moving it from the current track. That is, the VCM drive circuit 7
7A to supply the maximum drive current Im1 to the VCM 5 as shown in FIG. Then, as the target track is approached, the drive control is performed from constant speed to deceleration.
Control for gradually decreasing the drive current value supplied to CM5 is performed.

On the other hand, when the low power mode is set, the CPU 10 reads the VCM maximum current value and the SM maximum current value of each motor from the memory 11 (step S3).
Based on this VCM maximum current value and SM maximum current value, C
The PU 10 controls the VCM drive circuit 7 and the SM drive circuit 6 so as to limit the upper limit of the drive current supplied to the VCM 5 and the spindle motor 3 to a predetermined value (step S4).

Specifically, at the start of rotation of the disc 2, as shown in FIG. 7B, the maximum drive current Im2 at a lower level than usual is supplied to the spindle motor 3 to rotate the disc 2. Then, the drive current value supplied to the spindle motor 3 is gradually reduced from the limited maximum drive current Im2 until the rotation speed of the disk 2 reaches the target value (step S5).

Therefore, the power consumption consumed by driving the spindle motor 3 is reduced as compared with the normal power consumption. In this case, as a matter of course, compared with the normal mode, the time required for the rotation speed of the spindle motor 3 to reach the target value increases. In other words, the completion of the HDD operation preparation is somewhat delayed. Therefore, the SM maximum current value in the low power mode is set according to the allowable time required for the spindle motor 3 to rotate normally.

Further, in seek control, the CPU 10 supplies a maximum drive current Im2 of a lower level than usual to the VCM 5 at the time of initial seek for moving the head 1 from the current track, as shown in FIG. The head 1 is accelerated. Then, until the target track is approached, the drive current value supplied to the VCM 5 is gradually reduced from the limited maximum drive current Im2 according to the drive control from constant speed to deceleration.

Therefore, the power consumption consumed by driving the VCM 5 will be lower than usual. In this case, as a matter of course, the acceleration of the VCM 5 is lower than that in the normal mode, and thus the seek speed of the head 1 is reduced. That is, the time required for the head 1 to reach the target track increases, and as a result, the access speed decreases. Therefore, the VCM maximum current value in the low power mode is set according to the allowable value of the seek speed.

In this way, when the low power mode is set when the command is issued from the host computer to drive the HDD, the VCM5
And the upper limit of the drive current supplied to the spindle motor 3 is limited. Therefore, when the HDD is driven, the power consumption of the motor, which accounts for most of the power consumption, can be reduced, so that the power consumption supplied to the HDD can be reduced as necessary.

In the embodiment, the supply current value is limited to both the VCM 5 of the HDD and the spindle motor 3, but only one of them may be controlled. in this case,
As a matter of course, the effect of reducing the motor power consumption is slightly smaller than that in the case where both are controlled, but a sufficient effect can be obtained as compared with the conventional case. (Explanation of First Modification) In the first modification of the embodiment, as shown in FIG.
Instead of this, it is a method of setting by the setup processing of the host computer 13.

Specifically, in step S10 of FIG. 5, a method of storing the operation mode information in the memory 11 is executed by the setup process of the host computer 13. That is, the setup screen 13a is displayed on the display of the host computer 13, and the operation mode information designated on the setup screen 13a is input to the CPU 10 as a command. The CPU 10 stores in the memory 11 the operation mode information (normal mode or low power mode) of the command transferred via the interface 9. Further, each of the VCM maximum current value and the SM maximum current value in the low power mode may be designated from the setup screen 13a similarly to the operation mode information.

Further, the CPU 10 executes step S in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 15, when the normal mode is set by the determination of the operation mode, a process of canceling the VCM maximum current value and the SM maximum current value in the low power mode specified by the setup screen 13a is executed. As a result, the VCM maximum current value and the SM maximum current value can be arbitrarily updated along with the setting of the low power mode. The other operations are the same as those in the above-mentioned embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the system of the first modification, the switch circuit 1
2 is unnecessary, and there is an advantage that the host computer 13 can set the low power mode during other setup processing. Further, the VCM maximum current value and the SM maximum current value in the low power mode can be selectively designated from a plurality of values displayed on the setup screen 13a.
In addition, through the setup screen 13a, the specified VC
It is also easy to change the M maximum current value and the SM maximum current value. However, as compared with the setting method by the switch circuit 12, it is necessary to enter the setup processing mode, so that the operability of setting is slightly deteriorated. (Explanation of Second Modification) As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, the second modification has the content of controlling only the drive current to be supplied to the VCM 5 in the low power mode. Supply drive current in normal mode.
The method of setting the operation mode may be either the setting method by the switch circuit 12 of the above-described embodiment or the setup processing method according to the first modification.

In the second modification, when a command is issued from the host computer and given to the CPU 10 via the interface 9, the CPU 10 reads the operation mode information from the memory 11, and the normal mode or the low power mode is selected. It is determined whether it is set (steps S20 and S21).

In the normal mode, the CPU 10 executes normal seek control. That is, the CPU 10 uses the target speed table stored in advance in the memory 11 to execute speed control for moving the head 1 to the target track of the disk 2 (step S24). The target speed table is composed of a target speed data group for performing speed control of acceleration, low speed, and deceleration according to the seek distance. In the seek control, the CPU 10 calculates an error (speed control amount) between the actual speed of the head 1 and the target speed from the target speed table, and controls so as to supply the VCM 5 with a drive current corresponding to this error (step). S25). As a result, as shown in FIG. 7 (A), the maximum drive current Im1 is supplied for acceleration during the initial seek, and is supplied to the VCM 5 for drive control from constant speed to deceleration as the target track is approached. The control for gradually decreasing the drive current value is performed.

On the other hand, when the low power mode is set, the CPU 10 changes the target speed table used in the seek control to the low power mode table (step S22). The low power mode table is stored in the memory 11 in advance.
The target speed data group is stored in the VCM 5 and is set so that the maximum current value supplied to the VCM 5 is the maximum drive current Im2 limited to the maximum drive current Im1 in the normal mode.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 7A, at the initial seek time, the maximum drive current Im2 at a level lower than usual is supplied to the VCM 5 to accelerate the head 1. And
Until the target track is approached, the drive current value supplied to the VCM 5 is gradually reduced from the limited maximum drive current Im2 according to the drive control from constant speed to deceleration (step S23).

In the method of the second modification, the VCM of the HDD is used.
Only the supply current value of 5 is limited. Further, instead of storing the VCM maximum current value and the SM maximum current value in the low power mode in the memory 11, a low power mode table is prepared as the target speed table. Therefore, precise drive control in the low power mode can be performed in consideration of the maximum drive current value of the VCM 5 and the seek speed value in the low power mode in advance. That is, not only the drive current supplied to the VCM 5 is limited, but also appropriate seek control considering the maximum drive current value can be realized.

[0037]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, it is possible to limit the upper limit of the power consumption supplied to the motor more than usual when the device is driven, if necessary, so that the power consumption of the motor can be reduced. Can be realized. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the power consumption of the entire device. In particular, when applied to, for example, a built-in battery-driven system whose power supply capacity is limited, it is possible to reduce power consumption, exhibit effectiveness, and contribute to higher system performance.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main part of an HDD according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining stored contents of a memory according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining a first modified example of the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the first modified example.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the second modified example.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an operation mode according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Head, 2 ... Disk, 4 ... Head actuator, 5 ... Voice coil motor (VCM), 6 ... Spindle motor drive circuit, 7 ... VCM drive circuit, 9 ... Interface, 10 ... Control unit (CPU), 11 ... Memory ,
12 ... Switch circuit.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A data recording / reproducing apparatus for performing a data read / write operation on a disk by a head, a head motor for driving the head, a disk motor for rotating the disk, and an ordinary motor. An operation mode setting means for selectively setting a low power operation mode for reducing the motor power consumption as compared with a normal operation mode due to power consumption, and when the low power operation mode is set by the operation mode setting means A current setting means for limiting a maximum drive current value of at least one of the head motor and the disk motor to a predetermined value, and a maximum drive current value limited by the current setting means when the low power operation mode is set. As an upper limit, a motor drive that drives and controls the head motor or the disk motor. Data recording and reproducing apparatus characterized by comprising a control means. 2. A data recording / reproducing apparatus for performing a data read / write operation on a disk by a head, a head motor for driving the head, a disk motor for rotating the disk, and an ordinary motor. An operation mode setting means for selectively setting a low power operation mode for reducing the motor power consumption as compared with the normal operation mode due to power consumption; and a head motor or a disk motor in the low power operation mode. A current value storage means for storing a predetermined value which is a maximum drive current value and is limited from the maximum drive current value in the normal operation mode; and when the low power operation mode is set by the operation mode setting means. Reading the maximum drive current value of the head motor or the disk motor from the current value storage means And a motor drive control means for driving and controlling the head motor or the disk motor with the maximum drive current value set by the current setting means as an upper limit when setting the low power operation mode. A data recording / reproducing apparatus characterized by being provided. 3. A data recording / reproducing apparatus for performing a data read / write operation on a disk by a head, a head motor for driving the head, a disk motor for rotating the disk, and an ordinary motor. An operation mode setting means for selectively setting a low power operation mode for reducing the motor power consumption more than normal with respect to a normal operation mode by power consumption; and the head motor and the disk motor in the low power operation mode. Current value storage means for storing respective maximum drive current values, each predetermined value limited from the maximum drive current value in the normal operation mode, and the low power operation mode set by the operation mode setting means. The maximum drive current value of the head motor and the disk motor, Means for reading and setting from the means, and a motor drive for controlling the drive of the head motor and the disk motor with each maximum drive current value set by the current setting means as an upper limit when setting the low power operation mode. A data recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: a control unit. 4. A data recording / reproducing apparatus for performing a data read / write operation on a disk by a head, wherein a head motor for driving the head and a normal operation mode for normal motor power consumption are normally used. Operation mode setting means for selectively setting a low power operation mode for further reducing motor power consumption; and, when the low power operation mode is set by the operation mode setting means, the head is moved to a target track on the disk. Seek control means for changing the target speed data used for seek control to move from the normal operation mode to the low power operation mode in which the maximum movement speed is limited, and the low power operation mode changed by the seek control means. Based on the target speed data for the Data recording and reproducing apparatus characterized by comprising a motor drive control means for driving and controlling the motor the head up to a maximum of. 5. The operation mode setting means includes a switch circuit for selectively designating the normal operation mode and the low power operation mode, as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4. A data recording / reproducing apparatus according to any one of 1. 6. The operation mode setting means includes memory means for storing operation mode information corresponding to the normal operation mode or the low power operation mode specified by a command from a switch circuit or an external computer, Further, the current setting means has a determination means for determining whether the low power operation mode or the normal operation mode is set based on the operation mode information stored in the memory means. 5. A data recording / reproducing apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 3 in the range. 7. A data recording / reproducing apparatus comprising a head motor for driving the head by executing a data read / write operation on the disk by the head and a disk motor for rotating the disk, Selectively setting a low power operation mode in which the motor power consumption is lower than normal with respect to the normal operation mode due to the motor power consumption, and when the low power operation mode is set, the head motor and the A step of limiting the maximum drive current value of at least one of the disk motors to a predetermined value, and drive control of the head motor or the disk motor with the maximum drive current value limited when the low power operation mode is set as an upper limit. A method of controlling a motor of a data recording / reproducing apparatus, comprising: 8. A data recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: a head motor for driving the head by executing a data read / write operation on the disk by the head; and a disk motor for rotating the disk. The maximum drive current value of the head motor or the disk motor in the low power operation mode in which the motor power consumption is reduced as compared with the normal operation mode due to the motor power consumption of Storing in memory means a predetermined value limited by a drive current value; selectively setting the low power operation mode; and when the low power operation mode is set, the head motor or the Reading and setting a maximum drive current value corresponding to the disk motor from the memory means; Serial motor control method of the data recording and reproducing apparatus characterized by comprising the step of controlling the driving of the motor or motors for the disk for the head set the maximum driving current value set at the time of low-power operation mode as the upper limit.