WO1999006999A1 - Enregistreurs de piste d'asservissement - Google Patents

Enregistreurs de piste d'asservissement Download PDF

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Publication number
WO1999006999A1
WO1999006999A1 PCT/GB1998/002286 GB9802286W WO9906999A1 WO 1999006999 A1 WO1999006999 A1 WO 1999006999A1 GB 9802286 W GB9802286 W GB 9802286W WO 9906999 A1 WO9906999 A1 WO 9906999A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
servo track
writers
support
track writers
servo
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/GB1998/002286
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Anthony William Leonard
Original Assignee
Havant International Limited
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Havant International Limited filed Critical Havant International Limited
Priority to JP2000505639A priority Critical patent/JP2001512276A/ja
Priority to GB0000745A priority patent/GB2342494B/en
Publication of WO1999006999A1 publication Critical patent/WO1999006999A1/fr

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
    • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
    • G11B33/00—Constructional parts, details or accessories not provided for in the other groups of this subclass
    • G11B33/12—Disposition of constructional parts in the apparatus, e.g. of power supply, of modules
    • G11B33/125—Disposition of constructional parts in the apparatus, e.g. of power supply, of modules the apparatus comprising a plurality of recording/reproducing devices, e.g. modular arrangements, arrays of disc drives
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
    • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
    • G11B21/00—Head arrangements not specific to the method of recording or reproducing
    • G11B21/02—Driving or moving of heads
    • G11B21/10—Track finding or aligning by moving the head ; Provisions for maintaining alignment of the head relative to the track during transducing operation, i.e. track following
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
    • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
    • G11B33/00—Constructional parts, details or accessories not provided for in the other groups of this subclass
    • G11B33/02—Cabinets; Cases; Stands; Disposition of apparatus therein or thereon
    • G11B33/08—Insulation or absorption of undesired vibrations or sounds
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
    • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
    • G11B33/00—Constructional parts, details or accessories not provided for in the other groups of this subclass
    • G11B33/14—Reducing influence of physical parameters, e.g. temperature change, moisture, dust
    • G11B33/1406—Reducing the influence of the temperature
    • G11B33/1413—Reducing the influence of the temperature by fluid cooling
    • G11B33/142—Reducing the influence of the temperature by fluid cooling by air cooling
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
    • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
    • G11B5/00—Recording by magnetisation or demagnetisation of a record carrier; Reproducing by magnetic means; Record carriers therefor
    • G11B5/48—Disposition or mounting of heads or head supports relative to record carriers ; arrangements of heads, e.g. for scanning the record carrier to increase the relative speed
    • G11B5/54—Disposition or mounting of heads or head supports relative to record carriers ; arrangements of heads, e.g. for scanning the record carrier to increase the relative speed with provision for moving the head into or out of its operative position or across tracks
    • G11B5/55—Track change, selection or acquisition by displacement of the head
    • G11B5/5521—Track change, selection or acquisition by displacement of the head across disk tracks
    • G11B5/5526—Control therefor; circuits, track configurations or relative disposition of servo-information transducers and servo-information tracks for control thereof
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
    • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
    • G11B5/00—Recording by magnetisation or demagnetisation of a record carrier; Reproducing by magnetic means; Record carriers therefor
    • G11B5/48—Disposition or mounting of heads or head supports relative to record carriers ; arrangements of heads, e.g. for scanning the record carrier to increase the relative speed
    • G11B5/58—Disposition or mounting of heads or head supports relative to record carriers ; arrangements of heads, e.g. for scanning the record carrier to increase the relative speed with provision for moving the head for the purpose of maintaining alignment of the head relative to the record carrier during transducing operation, e.g. to compensate for surface irregularities of the latter or for track following
    • G11B5/596—Disposition or mounting of heads or head supports relative to record carriers ; arrangements of heads, e.g. for scanning the record carrier to increase the relative speed with provision for moving the head for the purpose of maintaining alignment of the head relative to the record carrier during transducing operation, e.g. to compensate for surface irregularities of the latter or for track following for track following on disks

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to servo track writers.
  • a head disk assembly consisting of the read/write head(s), the magnetic disk or disks, the motor and arm electronics, is mounted in a mastering station known as a servo track writer.
  • the servo track writer writes a pattern of magnetic information (the " servo track pattern" ) onto the disk.
  • the servo track pattern becomes the master reference which is used by the disk drive during normal operation in order to locate the tracks and sectors on the disk for data storage and retrieval .
  • FIG. 1 to 3 respectively show a view from the front, a view from the side, and a view from above of a conventional mounting of three servo track writers 1 in a horizontal plane on top of a bench 2.
  • Each servo track writer 1 is isolated from mechanical vibrations transmitted through the bench 2 by vibration-isolation mounts.
  • the electronic systems 3 which control the servo track writers 1 are mounted below the servo track writers 1 in the lower portion of the bench 2.
  • the electronic systems 3 are connected to the servo track writers 1 by cables (not shown) .
  • servo track writing has to take place in a clean room.
  • a flow of clean air 4 passes in a vertical direction over the servo track writers 1 and head disk assemblies supported by the servo track writers 1. Ionised air is used if the head disk assemblies are sensitive to static electricity. It is the applicant's understanding that every single manufacturer of head disk assemblies presently mounts their servo track writers in the manner shown in Figures 1 to 3, i.e. with the servo track writers arranged in a single horizontal plane on top of some kind of bench or rack. The reasons for this are numerous. First, servo track writers have traditionally been extremely heavy, weighing as much as 1500 kg in the past.
  • Such servo track writers were therefore difficult to install and installation was more easily achieved by placing the servo track writer on top of a bench.
  • the servo track writers were effectively fixed in place and immovable once installed (unless special lifting equipment was available) .
  • the servo track writers 1 were mounted on top of a bench 2 to allow easy access for maintenance in situ.
  • the head disk assemblies were loaded into the servo track writers 1 from above. This was originally the most convenient manner for loading the head disk assemblies as, in the past, head disk assemblies themselves were relatively heavy.
  • clean rooms themselves have usually had a vertical flow of clean air, again encouraging the horizontal top-mounting of the servo track writers 1 in the past.
  • servo track writers were developed from laboratory-style equipment, which would have been mounted on the top of a laboratory bench, and this philosophy has carried through to the present day.
  • the benches presently used for supporting servo track writers are very substantial welded steel structures using large and expensive isolation systems to isolate the servo track writers from vibration.
  • the number of servo tracks per data track has also increased so that whilst previously two revolutions of the disk were required to write a servo track for each data track, now three or even four revolutions of the disk are required to write a servo track for each data track, leading to an increase in the servo write time of 50% or 100%.
  • the servo track writing process is therefore taking longer and longer and thus there is a greatly increased demand for clean room space.
  • head disk assemblies are being manufactured and assembled more and more quickly each year so that the rate at which assembled head disk assemblies come off the production line ready for servo track writing is increasing each year, again placing extra demands on clean room space. As a result of these factors, the demand for clean room space is at least doubling each year. It will be appreciated that construction, operation and maintenance of a clean room is extremely expensive and forms a significant part of the total cost of manufacturing a head disk assembly.
  • apparatus for writing servo tracks to a storage medium comprising a plurality of servo track writers arranged in a vertical column.
  • the apparatus preferably comprises a support supporting the servo track writers in vertically separated layers .
  • apparatus for writing servo tracks to a storage medium comprising a plurality of servo track writers and a support supporting the servo track writers in vertically separated layers.
  • Each layer may contain plural servo track writers .
  • the layers are preferably arranged in a vertical column.
  • the support may have plural shelves, at least some of the shelves supporting at least one servo track writer.
  • At least some of the shelves on which servo track writers are mounted are preferably arranged to be slidable in the support to allow access to the servo track writers from the front of the support .
  • the support is preferably arranged such that the servo track writers can be removed from the support from the front of the support .
  • Each servo track writer is preferably mechanically substantially isolated from the support by at least one vibration- isolation mount. As the servo track writers are isolated from the support, they are effectively isolated from each other. That means for example that access can be had to one of the servo track writers without affecting the operation of any of the other servo track writers in the support . There may be at least one fan for providing a horizontal flow of air across the servo track writers.
  • the apparatus may comprise an air duct to provide an air flow path for air which has passed horizontally over the servo track writers to direct said air downwards.
  • the air duct may be provided by secondary wall which is spaced from the rear wall of the support, air flowing from the servo track writers through apertures in the secondary wall and into the space between the secondary wall and the rear of the support .
  • the servo track writers may be arranged to be front - maintainable. In other words, maintenance of the servo track writers may be carried out from the front (in contrast to prior art servo track writers which were maintained from above in accordance with their bench top mounting shown in Figures 1 to 3) .
  • a clock head assembly of each servo track writer may be replaced from the front of the servo track writer. (The clock head is used to write a usually temporary clock track onto the disk which serves as a timing reference during writing of the servo track.
  • the clock head wears out rapidly in practice, and needs to be replaced typically every 500 to 1000 operations. It is preferred that the clock head in a servo track writer can be replaced whilst other servo track writers in the support are in use without affecting the operation of the other servo track writers.
  • the servo track writers may be arranged so that a head disk assembly can be loaded onto and unloaded from the servo track writer from the front of the apparatus .
  • front- loading and servicing and maintenance from the front should be taken to include such from any vertical side of the support and the term “front” is used herein for convenience and by convention.
  • the servo track writers may be arranged to be maintainable from above.
  • the servo track writers may be mounted on sliders. This allows the servo track writers to slide out, which facilitates access to the servo writers generally and particularly provides easy access to the top of the servo track writers.
  • Control electronics may be provided for controlling the servo track writers.
  • the control electronics may be supported on shelves below the servo track writers.
  • control electronics for each servo track writer is placed close to the servo track writer, most preferably in the same horizontal plane as the servo track writer. This means that there is as short a path as possible for the very high frequency signals between the servo track writer and the control electronics. This arrangement also facilitates removal of the servo track writer and its associated control electronics as a unit for major maintenance.
  • a clean room having apparatus as described above, and means for providing a flow of clean air in a horizontal direction over the servo track writers
  • Fig. 1 is a front view of a prior art apparatus
  • Fig. 2 is a side view of the prior art apparatus of Figure 1 ;
  • Fig. 3 is a plan view from above of the prior art apparatus of Figures 1 and 2 ;
  • Fig. 4 is a front view of a first example of apparatus according to the present invention.
  • Fig. 5 is a side view of the apparatus of Figure 4 ;
  • Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a second example of apparatus according to the present invention.
  • Fig. 7 is a perspective view of an example of a servo track writer and its control electronics for the apparatus of Fig. 6.
  • the apparatus 10 includes a support 11 which supports plural servo track writers 12 in a vertical column.
  • the support 11 in the example shown is in the form of a rack having four vertical corner posts 13 between which are plural horizontal shelves 14.
  • the support rack 11 has a top plate 15 and a bottom plate 16 each of which is horizontal and parallel to the respective shelves 14.
  • the bottom plate 16 has castor wheels 17 which allow the support rack 11 to be moved.
  • each shelf 14 there are three shelves 14 separated from one another in a vertical direction and lying vertically over each other.
  • Each shelf 14 has a width w which is sufficient to allow two servo track writers 12 to be placed side by side on each shelf 14.
  • the support rack 11 can support six servo track writers 12 in three vertically separated layers arranged in a vertical column.
  • Each servo track writer 12 is isolated by vibration-isolation mounts 18 from transmission of mechanical vibrations through the support rack 11, the vibration-isolation mounts 18 being interposed between the servo track writers 12 and the respective shelves 14.
  • Control electronics 19 for the servo track writers 12 are supported in the lower portion of the support rack 11. In the example shown, there are six sets of control electronics 19, one for each servo track writer 12, and each set of control electronics 19 is connected via a cable (not shown) to a respective servo track writer 12.
  • the servo track writers 12 may be arranged so that they can be maintained from the front of the support rack 11. (As mentioned above, reference to " front” shall be taken to include any vertical side of the support rack 11. For example, maintenance could be carried out from the side shown in Figure 5.)
  • the servo track writers 12 may be arranged so that a head disk assembly can be loaded onto the servo track writer 12 from the front to allow quick and easy loading and unloading of the head disk assemblies.
  • the servo track writers may be arranged to be maintainable from above.
  • the servo track writers may be mounted on sliders, such as sliding rails, allowing the servo track writers to slide out to provide access to the top of the servo track writers.
  • the support rack 11 is preferably arranged so that the servo track writers 12 can be removed from the front of the support rack 11.
  • Retaining blocks 21 can be provided at the front of each shelf 14 to retain each servo track writer 12 on its shelf 14, the retaining blocks 21 being movable or removable to allow the servo track writers 12 to be removed from and replaced onto a shelf 14.
  • FIG. 6 A second example of apparatus 10 for writing servo tracks to a storage medium is shown in Figures 6 and 7. Those features of the second example which correspond to those features of the first example described above have the same reference numerals and will not be described further in detail.
  • the support 11 is in the form of a cabinet which is open on its front face.
  • the support 11 has eight bays 30 in its upper portion each for receiving a respective servo track writer 12.
  • the bays 30 are arranged in two vertical columns of four bays 30 each.
  • Each bay 30 has runners or rails (not shown) .
  • a shelf 14 sits on the rails in each bay 30 so that the shelf 14 can be slid into and out of the bay 30 from the front of the support 11.
  • Each shelf 14 has latches 31 which can be released to enable the shelf 14 to be slid out of the bay 30 and locked to retain the shelf 14 in the bay 30.
  • Each shelf 14 can be removed completely from the support 11 by lifting the shelf 14 off the rails.
  • Each shelf 14 carries on its uppermost surface a servo track writer 12 which is mounted towards the front of the shelf 14.
  • Each servo track writer 12 is isolated from its shelf 14 by vibration-isolation mounts (not shown) to isolate the servo track writer 12 from transmission of mechanical vibrations through the support rack 11, the vibration- isolation mounts being interposed between the servo track writers 12 and the respective shelves 1 .
  • Each servo track writer 12 has its own control electronics 19 which is supported on the same shelf 14. It is not normally necessary for the control electronics 19 to be isolated from the shelf 14 though this may be done if desired. As shown in the drawings, each control electronics 19 is positioned behind its respective servo track writer 12 and is positioned as close as possible to its servo track writer 12. This means that the path for the very high frequency signals between the control electronics 19 and its servo track writer 12 is as short as possible, thereby minimising any attenuation or interference of the signals. This mounting of the control electronics 19 behind the servo track writers 12 also means that the control electronics 19 and the servo track writer 12 can be removed as a unit from the support 11, for example for replacement or maintenance.
  • AC/DC power distribution units 32 for the control electronics 19 and the servo track writers 12 are positioned in horizontal bays 33 at the bottom of the support 11.
  • the servo track writers 12 are arranged so that they can be maintained from the front of the support rack 11. (As mentioned above, reference to " front” shall be taken to include any vertical side of the support rack 11. For example, maintenance could be carried out from the side shown in Figure 6.) This is facilitated by the shelves 14 being slidable in the bays 30.
  • each servo track writer 12 has a transport mechanism 35 in the form of a drivable caddy or tray which carries the head disk assembly 34 and which can be driven towards and away from the front of the servo track writer 12 as necessary.
  • a vertical clamp 36 which may be under automatic control, clamps the head disk assembly 34 to the servo track writer 12 when the head disk assembly 34 is in the correct position.
  • the clean air flows into the room through apertures in the ceiling and then down from the ceiling in a vertical direction to exhaust through apertures in the clean room floor.
  • the rear of the control electronics 19 in the second example may fit directly into apertures 40 provided in a secondary rear wall 41 which is spaced from the actual rear of the support 11.
  • a centrifugal fan 42 is mounted at the rear of each of the control electronics 19. The fan 42 draws air 20 in from the front of the support 11 horizontally across the servo track writer 12 and the control electronics 19, thereby keeping the servo track writer 12 clean and the control electronics 19 cool. Air passing through the apertures 40 in the spaced wall 41 is thrown downwards by the centrifugal fan 42 towards the floor of the clean room from where the air can be exhausted from the clean room.
  • the arrangement of the spaced wall 41 at the rear of the support 11 may be replaced by other ducting to direct air which has passed over the servo track writers 12 downwards to the clean room floor.
  • fans 42 may be mounted at the front of the servo track writers 12.
  • the present invention provides a system which allows much improved utilisation of expensive clean room space during the manufacture of a storage medium such as a disk drive.
  • Several servo track writers can be supported in a floor area which previously only supported one servo track writer. This avoids the need to build further or larger clean rooms and allows a higher throughput of storage media such as disk drives through the servo track writing process.
  • the usual vertical air flow in a conventional clean room is directed horizontally across the servo track writers.

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  • Warehouses Or Storage Devices (AREA)
  • Moving Of The Head To Find And Align With The Track (AREA)

Abstract

Selon cette invention, on monte plusieurs enregistreurs (12) de piste d'asservissement dans une armoire de support (11), de manière que les enregistreurs (12) de piste d'asservissement soient disposés en colonne verticale, ce qui permet de faire d'énormes économies d'espace en salle blanche.
PCT/GB1998/002286 1997-07-31 1998-07-30 Enregistreurs de piste d'asservissement WO1999006999A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP2000505639A JP2001512276A (ja) 1997-07-31 1998-07-30 サーボトラックライタ
GB0000745A GB2342494B (en) 1997-07-31 1998-07-30 Servo track writers

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GBGB9716267.1A GB9716267D0 (en) 1997-07-31 1997-07-31 Servo track writers
GB9716267.1 1997-07-31

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO1999006999A1 true WO1999006999A1 (fr) 1999-02-11

Family

ID=10816809

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/GB1998/002286 WO1999006999A1 (fr) 1997-07-31 1998-07-30 Enregistreurs de piste d'asservissement

Country Status (4)

Country Link
JP (1) JP2001512276A (fr)
GB (2) GB9716267D0 (fr)
MY (1) MY120752A (fr)
WO (1) WO1999006999A1 (fr)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1665270A1 (fr) * 2003-09-08 2006-06-07 Xyratex Technology Limited Monture d'unite de lecteur de disque, dispositif de retenue et procede de chargement d'une unite de lecteur de disque

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPH05128765A (ja) * 1991-10-31 1993-05-25 Nec Corp サーボトラツクライタ
US5469037A (en) * 1994-06-02 1995-11-21 Encore Computer Corporation Linear accelerated device
US5525106A (en) * 1993-04-12 1996-06-11 Daifuku Co., Ltd. Load storing equipment with cleaning device

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS50128765A (fr) * 1974-03-30 1975-10-11

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPH05128765A (ja) * 1991-10-31 1993-05-25 Nec Corp サーボトラツクライタ
US5525106A (en) * 1993-04-12 1996-06-11 Daifuku Co., Ltd. Load storing equipment with cleaning device
US5469037A (en) * 1994-06-02 1995-11-21 Encore Computer Corporation Linear accelerated device

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 017, no. 509 (P - 1612) 13 September 1993 (1993-09-13) *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB2342494A (en) 2000-04-12
JP2001512276A (ja) 2001-08-21
GB2342494B (en) 2002-01-16
GB9716267D0 (en) 1997-10-08
GB0000745D0 (en) 2000-03-08
MY120752A (en) 2005-11-30

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