Dynamic information storage or retrieval – Condition indicating – monitoring – or testing – Including radiation storage or retrieval
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-06
2001-06-12
Huber, Paul W. (Department: 2651)
Dynamic information storage or retrieval
Condition indicating, monitoring, or testing
Including radiation storage or retrieval
C369S053370, C369S047390
Reexamination Certificate
active
06246651
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a disk apparatus, and more particularly to a disk apparatus in which a control unit performs a seek control to shift a read/write head to a target location of a disk before reading data from or writing data to the disk.
(2) Description of the Related Art
As disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 1-166358, there is known a disk apparatus which performs a seek to shift a head to a target location of a disk before reading data from or writing data to the disk. In order to reduce a power consumption, in the conventional disk apparatus of the above publication, the supplying of current to a disk motor is inhibited when the head is shifted in a radial direction of the disk during the seek, and the supplying of current to the disk motor is restarted at the end of the seek. However, in the conventional disk apparatus, the current supply to the disk motor is inhibited throughout the period from the seek start to the seek end. The rotation speed of the disk is significantly reduced as a result of the cut of the current supply. The conventional disk apparatus requires a certain time to raise the rotation speed of the disk from the reduced level to the original level after the restart of the current supply. It is difficult for the conventional disk apparatus to provide a stable read/write operation of the head because it takes too much time to raise the rotation speed of the disk to the original level from the reduced level after the supplying of current to the disk motor is inhibited throughout the period of the seek.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved disk apparatus in which the above-described problems are eliminated.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a disk apparatus having an improved current supply control unit to effectively reduce a current consumption of the disk apparatus during a seek while providing a stable read/write operation of a read/write head.
The above-mentioned objects of the present invention are achieved by a disk apparatus in which a control unit performs a seek control, comprising: a disk motor which rotates a disk placed at a loaded position in the disk apparatus; a motor driver which controls the disk motor such that the disk is rotated by the disk motor at a controlled speed; a read/write head which reads information from or writes information to the disk when the disk is rotated by the disk motor at the controlled speed; a head shifting unit which shifts the head in a radial direction of the disk to a target location thereof when a seek is performed; and a current supply control unit which controls current supplied to the disk motor during the seek, wherein the current supply control unit cuts off the current supply to the disk motor for a predetermined period after a start of the seek.
In the disk apparatus of the present invention, at a time of occurrence of a peak in a current consumption of the head shifting unit during the seek, the current supply to the disk motor is cut off by the current supply control unit, and a corresponding amount of current is not supplied to the disk motor. It is possible to effectively reduce the total current consumption of the disk apparatus during the seek. It is possible to effectively reduce the fluctuation of the total current consumption of the disk apparatus at the peak of the current consumption of the head shifting unit or a tracking actuator. Hence, it is possible for the disk apparatus of the present invention to effectively reduce the total current consumption during the seek while providing a stable read/write operation of the read/write head.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1-166358 (1989-06-01), None
Fukinuki Shigeru
Kanenaga Junichi
Anderson Kill & Olick P.C.
Huber Paul W.
Teac Corporation
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