Dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval – Automatic control of a recorder mechanism – Controlling the record
Patent
1988-03-11
1990-03-06
Wolff, John H.
Dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval
Automatic control of a recorder mechanism
Controlling the record
360 7301, G11B 1546, G11B 1700
Patent
active
049071050
ABSTRACT:
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for linking together a plurality of disk drives. One drive is designated the "master". The others, designated "slaves", are synchronized to a common signal which may be from the "master" drive or from an external source. The disks are synchronized with respect to rate of revolution (spindle speed) and angular position. A plurality of hard disk drives are coupled in this manner to provide a parallel data output to a host computer. Each disk drive is microprocessor controlled. In normal operation a speed control loop regulates spindle speeds to within one percent of 3600 RPM. Both master and slave drives are equipped with input "MAPIN" and output "MAPOUT" signal terminals. The MAPOUT signal is relative to and dependant on the angular position of the disk. Synchronization is achieved by coupling the output signal from the master drive (MAPOUT) to the input terminal on the slave drives (MAPIN). The MAPOUT signals of each slave drive are compared with the master MAPOUT signal to provide a difference signal. This difference signal is used as an error correction signal to speed up or slow down the rotation of the slave drives until they are in synchronization (angular position and rotation speed) with the master drive. This is a highly precise control so to allow parallel data streams to be generated from the parallel drives at a high rate with a minimum of buffering requirements.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3893178 (1975-07-01), Sordello
patent: 3911488 (1975-10-01), Wood et al.
patent: 4025958 (1977-05-01), Orima et al.
patent: 4586093 (1986-04-01), Fukuju et al.
Maxtor Corporation
Wolff John H.
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