US5083229A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Disk drive with minimized head-arm excursions
Assignee: HGST Netherlands BV
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Filing: 1990-04-16
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Granted: 1992-01-21
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Expires: 2010-04-16
Abstract
Abstract The method of the invention is performed on a disk drive with at least a rotatable disk and a head/arm mechanism movable thereover. The disk has a plurality of concentric tracks, including innermost and outermost tracks and an intermediate track positioned therebetween, with the intermediate track including often-used records. The method reduces movements of the head/arm mechanism through the steps of: positioning the head/arm mechanism over the intermediate track; moving the head/arm mechanism away from the intermediate track to another track to perform a requested read operation; moving the head/arm mechanism back to the intermediate track from the further track and performing write actions in the tracks over which the head/arm mechanism moves in its traversal back to the intermediate track.
Inventors
- 👤 Alexander H. Frey, Jr.
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 00:44
CPC Classifications
G; G11; G11B; G11B21/00; G11B21/02; G11B21/08; G11B21/081; G11B21/083; G11B19/00; G11B19/02; G11B19/14
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
113 words
In a disk drive means with at least a rotatable disk and a head-arm mechanism movable thereover, said disk having a plurality of concentric tracks including innermost and outermost tracks and an intermediate track positioned therebetween, said intermediate track including often-used records, a method for reducing movements of said head-arm mechanism comprising the steps of: a. positioning said head-arm mechanism over said intermediate track; b. moving said head-arm mechanism away from said intermediate track to another track to perform a requested read operation; and c. moving said head-arm mechanism back to said intermediate track and performing write actions in tracks over which said head moves in its movement back to said intermediate track.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
113 words
In a disk drive means with at least a rotatable disk and a head-arm mechanism movable thereover, said disk having a plurality of concentric tracks including innermost and outermost tracks and an intermediate track positioned therebetween, said intermediate track including often-used records, a method for reducing movements of said head-arm mechanism comprising the steps of: a. positioning said head-arm mechanism over said intermediate track; b. moving said head-arm mechanism away from said intermediate track to another track to perform a requested read operation; and c. moving said head-arm mechanism back to said intermediate track and performing write actions in tracks over which said head moves in its movement back to said intermediate track.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said disk drive means accumulates, in a buffer area, data to be written, which data is accessed during step c.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of claim 2, wherein subsequent to step (b) but prior to step (c), the method further comprises the step of: b1. moving said head-arm mechanism further away from said intermediate track by a determined distance to another track.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 3 wherein said determined distance is dependent upon a rate of experienced read requests.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 4 wherein said determined distance decreases as the rate of read requests increases.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 4 wherein said steps b1 and c are superseded by a received read request, which request is performed as received.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 6 wherein said determined distance is calculated by the formula D=R(d), where: d=radial distance between said intermediate track and said another track T=system write time r=expected number of read commands during T, and R=Radial Overshoot=1+1/r.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
144 words
In a disk drive means with at least a rotatable disk and a head movable thereover, said disk having a plurality of concentric tracks including innermost and outermost tracks and an intermediate track positioned therebetween, said intermediate track including often-used records, said disk means accumulating, in a buffer area, data to be written to disk, the method for writing such data comprising the steps of: a. generating a command to write to disk said accumulated data in said buffer area; b. determining whether the tracks between said intermediate track and said innermost track or between said intermediate track and said outermost track, are most often accessed; c. moving said head across said innermost or outermost tracks in dependence upon which tracks are determined to be most often accessed; and d. writing data from said buffer area to disk during said movement in step c.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
144 words
In a disk drive means with at least a rotatable disk and a head movable thereover, said disk having a plurality of concentric tracks including innermost and outermost tracks and an intermediate track positioned therebetween, said intermediate track including often-used records, said disk means accumulating, in a buffer area, data to be written to disk, the method for writing such data comprising the steps of: a. generating a command to write to disk said accumulated data in said buffer area; b. determining whether the tracks between said intermediate track and said innermost track or between said intermediate track and said outermost track, are most often accessed; c. moving said head across said innermost or outermost tracks in dependence upon which tracks are determined to be most often accessed; and d. writing data from said buffer area to disk during said movement in step c.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
57 words
The method of claim 8 further comprising the steps of moving the head to the intermediate track; e. moving said head in the opposite direction to that of step c, after said head has been moved back to said intermediate track; and f. writing data from said buffer area to disk during said movement in step e.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1995-01-20 | 1995-07-22 | 1996-01-21 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1999-01-20 | 1999-07-22 | 2000-01-21 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2003-01-20 | 2003-07-22 | 2004-01-21 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |